


Feral

by skca54



Series: Forsaken Universe [2]
Category: Kick-Ass (2010)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-05-11 03:59:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 28,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5613196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skca54/pseuds/skca54
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He has been given another chance at life. What will he do with that chance? From my 'Forsaken' Universe. This story operates in parallel and in the same time-stream as 'Forsaken'. The first few chapters will set up the back story and then 'Forsaken' and 'Feral' will run in parallel, 'Forsaken' showing events in Chicago and 'Feral' showing events in New York, with some cross-overs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Awake

**Author's Note:**

> This story is intended as a parallel variation, of my story Forsaken. It spins off at approximately Chapter 23. The events occur in New York, but within the same universe as 'Forsaken'. This is only intended as a short story, allowing parallel events in New York, which are synchronised with those events, which occur in Chicago, in Forsaken.

I woke up.

I did not know where I was; my eyes were out of focus and it was a while, before I could see.

I looked around me; it was a hospital room. Why was I in a hospital room? I had absolutely no recollection, of how I had gotten there. I lay there for a while and just stared into nothing. I felt no pain, which was good. A nurse came in and smiled.

“You're awake!” the nurse commented.

I tried to talk, but only a croak came out.

“Don't try and talk; you'll be very dry,” the nurse explained, and she pushed a straw into my mouth and let me take a small sip of water.

I tried again.

“Thank you. Where am I? How did I get here?” I asked.

“You were in an accident and you've been here for a little over four months,” the nurse replied gently.

“Why?” I asked.

“You were badly burnt and you received a bad knock, to the head. The doctor will explain everything,” the nurse replied, as she left the room.

Four months? Burns?

I was suddenly feeling tired, very tired.


	2. Escape

**_Two weeks later  
Friday_ **

I was improving, apparently, and getting my strength back, after a number of weeks in a coma.

My memories were also coming back to me. One good thing was that the hospital did not know my real name; I was just 'John Doe' to them. Every time they asked, I would just say that I could not remember my name.

However, I  _did_  know exactly who I was and I also knew why I was here in the hospital, I knew what had happened and I knew that I was alone. The hospital would never release me, unless I had somewhere to go.

I had been out of bed over the past few days and my legs were strong enough to walk unaided. I had some horrendous scars on my chest, from the burns, but the rest of my cuts and bruises had healed over the past few months.

Where would I go?

What would I do when I got there?

I knew where important paperwork and money was stashed, both at home and at another, hidden, location. I hoped that both were still viable. My Dad was very careful, as he always expected to be double-crossed and thus he had taught me to look after myself. Although currently, I would have trouble fighting off a six-year-old!

I needed to find a place to lay low and recover properly. I could not do that at the hospital, just in case they worked out who I was and to whom I was related.

* * *

 

I had decided to go that night.

Security would be lax during the night shift and the hospital had kindly provided me with some clothes, as I would soon be leaving the hospital. When I was hurt, I had had no personal effects on me, so there was nothing left at the hospital for me to collect.

I waited until ten forty-five, as that was after the last rounds and I would not see anybody for a while. I quietly got dressed and left my room. I headed down the dimly lit corridors, until I got to the lifts. I then took the second arriving lift, down to the second floor, before I headed for the fire stairs. Once I got to the ground floor, I was able to slip out of the exit to the fire stairs and then out the main door.

..._...

Damn, it was cold out there! My jacket was not thick and this was the last day of February. I immediately headed away from the hospital. I had to be careful, as a boy my age, wandering around New York at this time of night, would probably attract attention from the Police or worse!

First, I needed money, so I headed to an innocuous part of the city, where I knew there was a dead drop that had some cash and a key. It was a long walk, but I needed the exercise, not to mention that the walking kept me warm.

Finally, over an hour later, I found the street that I needed and headed up towards a certain block. Beside this block, there was an alleyway and halfway along this alleyway, below a fire escape was what looked like an electric box. In fact, it had been installed last year, by my Dad. On the base was a removable strip, behind which, was a keypad. I hoped that it still worked and still had its contents!

..._...

I punched in the eight-digit code and the box clicked open.

So far so good, I thought, as I pulled open the front cover. Inside was a small pack, which I grabbed before shutting the box, just in case I needed it again.

I ran a short distance away, before I checked that I was not being followed, or observed. I found another alley and hid between a pair of dumpsters, before I then pulled open the pack. I felt around inside and found a small torch and I used this to check the contents of the pack.

Inside the pack was about three hundred dollars, in small notes, a folding knife with a six-inch blade and a key. The key opened the front door to the flat that my Dad and I lived in, or had lived in. I hoped that the flat was still intact, but I would have to see about that later.

I was very sure that the bastards, who killed my Dad, knew where we lived.

* * *

 

It took me a while to get to the flat, but I arrived there soon after one in the morning.

With the knife in my hand, I opened the main door to the apartment block and went up to the third floor. I tried not to make any noise as I stopped outside the door to our flat, before I listened carefully.

I heard no noises at all, so I inserted the key, turned it and let the door swing open slowly. As soon as the alarm started to beep, I punched in the code and the alarm went quiet. I closed the door, but did not turn on any lights. The flat seemed to be exactly as my Dad and I had left it, towards the beginning of November, the previous year.

I quickly pulled up a particular floorboard and grabbed the Glock 17 pistol and two spare magazines that were hidden there. I did the same in another room and placed one pistol and four magazines into the pack. The first pistol, I kept in my hand and I replaced the knife in my pack. I pulled up yet another floorboard and retrieved a packet of papers, which included my Passports and Birth Certificate, plus some other personal papers and some more cash. I stuffed some clothes, a few personal items and some other potentially useful items, into a larger pack, before laying down for the night, as I was very tired. I had not switched on a light, nor made any noise.

I intended to leave before six in the morning and search for a new place to lay low.

* * *

 

**_The following morning  
Saturday_ **

Daylight found me sitting in a McDonald's, enjoying breakfast.

I was tired, but I had money, a few changes of clothes and most importantly, weapons. I could now defend myself, kind of. Unfortunately, my Dad had not had the chance to setup a Safehouse before he had died, so I would need to find my own.

..._...

By lunchtime, I had wandered several miles around New York and caught quite a few cabs to various locations that I thought might have abandoned properties. It was still cold and I had to find somewhere, before it got dark.

Towards four in the afternoon, I found an apartment block that seemed in a bad state of disrepair and looked to have some abandoned units. Some of the units had broken windows and some were boarded up. The unit on the top floor seemed to have windows that were of a better quality, than the others had, so I picked the lock on the main access door and headed upstairs. The building had no obvious CCTV or any other security. One of the units on the second floor was burnt out and abandoned, so I continued on upstairs.

There was only one unit on the top floor. The main door looked very solid, from a structural point of view. I dug into my pack, pulled out a small black box, with some wires, put it into my pocket and then proceeded to pick the lock, and open the door. There was no beep of a security system, but I did not like to take any chances. I looked around and saw nothing and no wiring around the door. The room was a living room and had a couch. There was a door leading off to what looked like two bedrooms and a bathroom. None of the rooms looked to have been used in years; I was leaving footprints in the dust on the floor and everything had a thick covering of dust.

The remaining door had a keypad beside it, to the left of the frame. I pulled out the black box and wires from my pocket and pulled the cover off the keypad. A red LED illuminated, so I quickly connected two probes to a pair of contacts on the circuit board. I pressed a red button, on the black box and waited. Five seconds later the black box showed a green LED and the keypad did the same. The alarm system was disarmed and the black box displayed the eight-digit access number.

I turned the handle and entered the room.

 


	3. Safehouse

**_The following morning  
Sunday_ **

I woke up feeling greatly refreshed and grabbed a shower. The bed I had been using looked to have belonged to a young girl, as the room was pink and so was the bedding.

Now, the biggest surprise had been the room with the keypad security. That room was _very_ cool! The walls were fitted with a racking system and mounted on these racks were several pistols and rifles, plus a few melee weapons and knives. Many of the spaces on the wall were empty and had obviously been empty for some time. All the weapons would need cleaning, of course, before they could be used. There were several boxes of ammunition and various extras, such as spare magazines and suppressors.

Otherwise, the main features of the room were two rather old iMac computers, back-to-back and off to one side, was a small open kitchen and in the corner a large drawing desk. Many of the pictures on the wall were faded, but I could swear that a couple of the pictures depicted characters that looked familiar.

There was no usable food in the place and the kitchen would need a damn good clean before I could prepare any food in there. I intended to go shopping, check out the immediate area, and then I could do some cleaning in this place.

* * *

**_Three hours later_ **

I returned to the Safehouse, with some supplies.

I had wandered around the area and deemed it safe. No one had showed any interest in a young kid wandering around. I spent the next couple of hours or so, cleaning the kitchen, top to bottom, including the fridge. Finally, towards five in the afternoon, I was able to start cooking some dinner.

I was starting to unwind; I felt safe and allowed myself to think back. I was alone and my Dad was dead, in that explosion. The collapsing building had caught me, causing the burns. I really missed Dad; I was only thirteen for fuck's sake! What was I going to do, I only had a limited amount of cash, several thousand, but I had to make that last. I needed to come up with an idea to get extra cash!

..._...

While I was eating dinner, my eyes rested on one of the pictures, on the wall. I remembered the name: Frank D'Amico.

My Dad had told me about an assassin or vigilante, called Hit Girl. He had explained how she killed only those people who deserved it and that she was very successful, as she had killed possibly hundreds of people, to that point. Some of the deaths were also quite violent, apparently! My Dad had also heard a rumour about the death of Frank D'Amico and quite a few of his hired guards. The rumour was that Hit Girl had been involved and had wiped them all out single-handed!

Maybe I could be a vigilante... I could fight; I had skills. However, I would need to get fit first; being in hospital for four months had not helped my muscles, at all!

I went to bed feeling happy, both having had a good meal and knowing that, at least for now, I was safe.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Monday_ **

After breakfast, I started planning.

I needed to put together a costume of sorts, to protect my identity and protect myself from bodily harm. I was not muscular by any stretch of the imagination. I was thin and I still looked like a twelve year-old. Puberty had not had much of an effect on me yet; even my voice still squeaked! I started by making a list of the clothing I would require; I would keep it simple, none of that cape crap or stupid colour schemes!

I needed ballistic protection and I had found a few items of body armour, around the Safehouse, most of it obviously designed for a physically smaller person, who was quite a bit smaller than I was. However, for now I thought that I could make use of it, as some armour, would be better than none at all!

I decided that I would wear all black clothing, at least for now. I needed to come up with a mask of some sort, plus maybe some headgear. I would also need to select weapons; most probably a gun of some sort, plus knives and maybe a melee weapon. I would have a look at the weapons currently in the Safehouse and see what might be useful. I had absolutely no idea where to acquire weapons and ammunition from, so would have to make do with what was there.

By lunchtime, I had produced a nice collection of ideas, so I had a quick lunch, before getting down to some warm up exercises. My body still had a long way to go, before it was physically capable of both taking and giving abuse.


	4. Introductions

**_Five weeks later  
Monday evening_ **

This was going to be my first night out.

My fitness was almost perfect, so I thought I was, too.

I cautioned myself not to get complacent, as tonight would be a challenge. I was on my own and with no backup, if anything went wrong!

I was wearing my full outfit, which consisted of black combat trousers, shirt and jacket and black boots. My face was covered with a black ski mask. I had ballistic armour underneath the jacket, and I had managed to obtain a Tactical Vest, which would allow me to carry my weapons and equipment.

I had selected a pistol, in this case a Glock 19 pistol, which fitted my hand quite well. I had a cross draw holster attached to the vest and three pouches for spare fifteen-round magazines. I had also appropriated a pair of Sykes-Fairbairn fighting knives, which I had found in the Safehouse. These I carried on my right thigh. I had selected a 42-inch long, black, riot baton, which again, I had found in the Safehouse.

Whoever lived at the Safehouse, all those years ago, was a complete nut!

* * *

I left the Safehouse, at around nine and well after dark.

The plan was to move around, close to the Safehouse and ensure that there were no low-lifes around. I headed east first and kept to the shadows. My first mark appeared, just as it started to rain quite heavily. This was, I supposed, a bonus, as the noise of the rain covered the noise of my movements. The man was busy assaulting another man; it was a mugging by the look of it.

I approached from behind the attacker and swung the baton, which caught the man across the head and sent him into the alley wall, knocking him out. The other man was not hurt, so I helped him up and on his way.

"Who are you?" The man asked.

"I am Feral!" I replied, in a growly voice, which I hoped would cover up my age, as my voice was not very deep, at all!

Once the man was gone, I checked on the attacker. He was just unconscious, so I called in and left an anonymous tip for the Police. Next, I proceeded to head further east and then wrap around to the south. Thanks to the rain, there were not many people out on the streets, which made my life much easier. The drug dealers and other hardened criminals were not usually affected by rain, so I knew that I should come across some dealers at some stage.

..._...

I was not to be disappointed!

The two that I did find, hidden in a doorway, appeared to be the bottom of the pile, but they were selling and I had watched them do it.

I went in hard, swung the riot baton hard at the head of the first man, and watched as a cloud of fine blood sprayed across the face of the other man. The first man dropped silently. The second man pulled a knife and swung around towards me. I caught him on the wrist with a hand and swung him against the doorway. The man's nose broke as it hit the doorframe. I followed through, after I had dropped the riot baton, with a punch to the side of the man's head.

Once both men were disabled, I rummaged through their pockets and found a few bundles of cash, my eyes lit up at the sight! Unfortunately, I paid too much attention to the cash and never heard the three men approaching, until they were seconds away. I shoved the cash into a pocket and dived for the riot baton, just in time to avoid the bullet that hit the door.

I swung the baton round and cracked somebody's ankle. I heard a scream, as that somebody dropped to the ground. I leapt up, pulled my pistol and fired two aimed shots, at the man with the gun.

He fell back, against the third man and I ran for it.

* * *

**_The Safehouse_ **

I fell onto the couch at the Safehouse, shaking.

I had killed a man.

I had hit him, in the head, with two bullets; he was definitely dead! Dad had warned me that killing for the first time, would be difficult. My problem was that I had nobody to talk to about it, so I had to cope alone.

I stripped out of my clothes and weapons, and then climbed into the shower. I was still shaking, which made me feel ridiculous! I sank down in the shower and the shaking increased, emotions were welling up inside me, I started to cry. I really felt ashamed now and was glad that I was alone, but only for a few seconds, as I wished I had somebody to talk to, to be with me at that moment. I wished that my Dad were there with me. I really needed him, I felt so alone, and I had never felt this alone. For fuck's sake, how was a thirteen year-old, British boy, supposed to be able to survive, alone, in New York City?

Everything kept running through my mind, again and again.

* * *

**_The following week  
Friday_ **

I received some good news today.

According to the cops, one of their own had been found dead. Apparently, he was a dirty cop! So best place for him to be was in the ground! What was his name? Gigante; he sounded like a dick!

I had not been out, since that other night, almost two weeks previously. I was still struggling with my emotions; I fucking started crying in McDonald's the previous Saturday, for fuck's sake, talk about embarrassing!

I needed to get a fucking grip; I was getting really mad with myself.

* * *

**_Two days later  
Sunday_ **

Today was Easter.

My first ever Easter, alone.

My first ever Easter, without my Dad.

I felt so alone and I was ashamed to say that I cried, a lot!

I was trying to be a hardened vigilante, but when I was alone, I cried!

Not doing too well, was I?


	5. Hope

**_Two weeks later  
Sunday evening_ **

I was creeping down an alley; it was about nine in the evening.

I had just whacked a drug dealer; he was alive, just. I had relieved him of a couple of hundred dollars. However, when I was a few hundred yards away, I ran into a little problem.

"Police! Don't move!"

I started to turn, slowly.

"I said, don't move!"

I dropped the baton and raised my hands up and to the side.

"Get up against the wall!"

I did as I was told and felt my hands being seized, then cuffed. I was then spun around and felt my mask ripped off.

"Christ, a fucking kid!" The black, plain clothed, Detective exclaimed. "You even started puberty yet?"

"Fuck you!" I responded, feeling offended by his question. I may have looked young, but I was not that fucking young.

"Look kid, it is way past your bedtime!" The Detective said, yanking out my pistol.

I just stared at the Officer; the badge around his neck, said he was a Lieutenant. He looked me up and down, before groaning.

"Please, tell me, you aren't one of these fucked up vigilantes!"

"What if I were?" I responded, feeling a tiny ray of hope.

"For some strange reason, I have a soft touch for vigilantes, kid," The Detective explained.

"I am a vigilante, maybe not a good one, but I'm trying!" I said, with as much conviction as I could muster.

"I'm gonna give you a chance to rethink your life, kid!" The Detective said, spinning me around and unlocking the handcuffs. "You aren't the first kid that I've seen follow this course and lose their childhood!"

"Thanks!" I said a little confused.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Joshua Williams," I replied.

"Take this; you need help, you call me," The Detective said, handing me a card, before getting into his car and driving off.

I stuffed the card into a pocket and pulled my mask back on. The Detective had taken my pistol, but left the baton.

..._...

I decided not to risk myself again that night; I knew not to tempt fate, too much!

Maybe I _should_ rethink my life. I could hand myself in; I would be taken into care, but I would have somewhere normal to live and I would go back to school. Maybe they would send me back to the UK. I had no life, in either country.

My life was really fucked up!

* * *

**_The Safehouse_ **

I had stripped out of all my clothes, and I was just about to get in the shower, when I had a thought.

I dug through my pockets and found the card that the Police Lieutenant had given me. The name was interesting; it had the same surname as mine! 'Lieutenant Marcus Williams', was the name on the card. I placed the card, carefully away, in case I might need it. I still could not believe that the Police Officer had let me go!

I went back to my shower.

* * *

**_The following evening  
Monday_ **

I went out again.

Bad idea!

I tried to help a family that was being attacked; I failed – badly!

I had just passed an alley, when I heard a scream. I turned and ran down the alley, keeping to the shadows. I saw a woman and a young girl, just as a man smacked the woman across the face and when the girl screamed, she was slapped, hard. I lost my focus and never heard another man come up beside me and smack me hard across the face, causing my vision to swim and I fell down, dropping the baton.

I kicked out, with my right foot and caught the knee of the man who had attacked me. He screamed and punched me, in the side of my chest. The pain exploded like fire across me and I gasped with the pain.

Adrenalin started flowing, I braced myself, before pushing myself back up, and I started laying into the man, with every ounce of strength that I could muster. I managed to lay him out cold, but as I turned towards the woman and the child, the other man was gone and the woman was bleeding badly, from a chest wound. The little girl was alive, but unconscious.

I pulled out my cell, hesitated, then pulled out the card. I dialled the number and waited. I recognised the voice that answered. The voice sounded friendly, well, as close to friendly as I had in the world at that moment. I gave the Lieutenant the location of the alley and told him about the situation, before hanging up.

I stayed with the little girl, until a paramedic arrived, then I ran.

..._...

I felt like shit, when I finally returned to the Safehouse. I had failed, that woman might die. That girl might become an orphan... Like me!

Oh Christ, I really was no good at this.

* * *

**_One week later  
Friday evening_ **

I was in considerable pain!

It had only being a week, since my most recent beating, I still had the bruises that were now being added to by others. The big bruiser kicked me hard, in the left thigh, causing me to scream. I fell to the alley floor and rolled a few feet, I felt tears on my face, due to the pain. I also felt anger and felt adrenalin surging through me.

I was _not_ going to die. This was not the end of Joshua Williams, I forced myself to take deep breaths and grabbed for my pistol. The tall bastard had pulled off my mask, before starting the beating. He had also removed my pistol, ejecting the magazine and dumping it on the alley floor. I had another magazine in my left hand, ready to insert.

Another kick, this time to my chest, followed by an unintentional scream. I grabbed the pistol, inserted the magazine and pulled back on the slide. I rolled over and fired two rounds into the chest of the tall bastard, who had kicked me. Blood splashed down onto my face, I rolled again and fired one round, before the pistol was kicked from my hand; I missed the second bastard.

I rolled, kicking out and connecting with somebody's knee, causing a loud exclamation of pain. I reached for a fighting knife and threw it hard, towards another bruiser catching him in the upper chest and he dropped, screaming for a second, before going silent. I grabbed another knife, flicking it into another bruiser. I rolled across the alley floor, before I was able to regain my feet.

Just two more men were left. I ran forward and dived for my pistol, sweeping it up and rolling onto my back, firing four shots, two to each chest and both men dropped. I was exhausted; I scrambled to my feet and left the alley, as quickly as I could.

* * *

**_The Safehouse_ **

I made it back to the Safehouse and collapsed onto the couch.

The pain was a lot worse and I struggled to get out of my vest and other clothes. Once I was undressed, I checked out my bruises. My back was covered in bruises, as were both sides of my chest and the left side of my stomach. One bastard had kicked me in the groin, causing some bruising on my inner left thigh, but luckily, he missed anything more painful or anything I that might need later on in life!

I managed to get a shower, allowing the hot water to soothe my aching muscles. I grabbed a brief meal and climbed into bed, falling asleep almost immediately.


	6. Thoughts

**_The following morning  
Saturday_ **

I was still in pain at breakfast.

There was still a throbbing in my groin and not from what you might think, either! The bastard that kicked me there had done a good fucking job and it was painful every time that I tried to walk. I thought it a good idea that I rest for a few days and let my body heal before I tried any more heroics!

I rang Lieutenant Williams that afternoon, to ask about the woman and the girl. My mood instantly lifted when I heard that both of them were okay and would make a full recovery. Lieutenant Williams praised me for my actions, even though he said that I should not have been out there in the first place, but he was glad I was, for their sakes.

When I put my cell down, I actually felt happy inside. I had succeeded in something, finally.

I decided that being a vigilante, might work after all!

* * *

**_Two days later  
Monday_ **

My bruises, and groin, had healed enough, to allow me to leave the Safehouse.

I treated myself to an enormous breakfast, down the street, before taking a cab into the centre of New York. It felt good to be out in the fresh air and it was good to be out during daylight, for a change.

I spent a couple of hours wandering around Central Park. My Dad had liked doing this, as it was anonymous and it was difficult to be approached covertly. I liked Central Park, I had grown up living in places with lots of greenery and New York was a bit of a shock to the system! I hated living in a concrete jungle, so I enjoyed the chance to walk on grass and see large open areas.

It also gave me a good chance to think.

What was I going to do next? If I were going to be a vigilante and last for more than a few weeks, without being seriously injured or killed or worse, then I would need training. Now you could not just pick-up a phone book and lookup a vigilante school! Neither, could I just place a call to Hit Girl and ask for lessons.

..._...

Now, I knew that I was using the Safehouse of a vigilante, but it was obviously only a place to live, despite not having been used for a while. That must mean that the vigilantes had somewhere else to train. That would mean another, probably larger, Safehouse. From what I had seen, the vigilantes would be careful and so far, I had not seen a set of keys labelled: 'Other Safehouse'!

How many Safehouses would the vigilantes have had? I supposed that several would be a good idea, in case something happened to one or another. Dad had intended to set-up two small Safehouses, just for the two of us, so if something bad happened and we needed to hide quickly, we could. One would have been on each side of the city, so we could get to either in a short space of time.

From what I could see of the current Safehouse, it was set-up in an anonymous part of the city, in a very anonymous building. You did _not_ want a Safehouse to attract any attention, or it ceased to be 'safe'!

One last point had been nagging at the back of my mind: Would the owners of the Safehouse return? Maybe they were dead, but if they were whom I thought that they were, then they were most definitely alive!

* * *

**_A week later  
Monday_ **

I was sitting down and reading some newspapers, when I found an interesting series of articles from Chicago, concerning events over the previous week.

I was intrigued by the reports of an archer and ninjas operating in the City of Chicago. The reports also specifically mentioned Kick-Ass, Hit Girl and another Hero, called Shadow, plus a dog. Even better, Chris D'Amico, the nephew of Ralph D'Amico was dead. Apparently, somebody chopped off the fucker's head and kicked it around! A fitting end to a total idiot, who really did not have a clue what he was doing.

..._...

Now, I found this information very interesting, as it showed that there were active vigilantes in Chicago. New York had not seen any real vigilantes in a long time. The last real ones had been Hit Girl and Kick-Ass, but they seemed to vanish after some strange events, the previous summer. It looks like they moved to Chicago!

Okay, if I could get in contact with them, maybe they could help me, but then again, maybe Hit Girl would just kill me! I honestly did not have very many assets. Okay, I was good at Taekwondo, but so far, that had not really helped and it had not, made me invincible, like Hit Girl and Kick-Ass! I needed training on weapons and how to use them properly and I needed better weapons, not just a riot baton and a second-hand pistol. I also needed body armour, or some other similar, protection.

I wonder what my Dad would have thought of me at that point.

Would he have been proud?


	7. Chicago

**_Three weeks later  
Tuesday_ **

**_City of Chicago_ **

I had just arrived in Chicago, on the Amtrak, from New York.

My reasons for coming to Chicago were two fold. I wanted some time off, away from New York, a change of scene if you like. I also wanted to see if I could catch a glimpse of Kick-Ass, Hit Girl and Shadow, in action. I know this would probably be impossible, but I would know, unless I tried.

I spent a couple of hours down by the water of Lake Michigan and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. I was staying in a very, very cheap 'place'; I would not actually call it a hotel! I needed space to walk and think not to mention somewhere clean to eat!

..._...

The plan was to go out each evening, not as Feral, but as me – Joshua. I wanted to search for the team, to see if I could find them – but only to observe!

I had to admit that I had absolutely no idea, about where to start! Well, that was not strictly true; I had done some research, so I knew which areas would probably _not_ be patrolled by the team. This left other areas, which I would 'patrol'. I went out only after dark, until about one in the morning.

I had to do my best to keep to the shadows and avoid the Police and anti-social assholes.

* * *

**_Three days later  
Friday evening_ **

**_City of Chicago_ **

I was starting another night of wandering around Chicago.

I was not sure, exactly, where I was, but I knew I was in the northern part of Chicago and I had a feeling that I was in a bad area.

Then I hit pay dirt!

..._...

It was after ten, when right there, in front of me, I saw a black Range Rover turn into an alley and park. That in itself was out of the ordinary. You did not park a vehicle worth over one hundred thousand dollars, in a dark alley! Unless, of course, you were Fusion – I had seen the registration plate! I kept myself hidden and watched, as first Hit Girl, and then Kick-Ass emerged. Kick-Ass went around to the rear and opened the tailgate, allowing a dog, wearing cool body armour, to jump down to the ground. Kick-Ass picked up the dog's leash and walked around to where Hit Girl was waiting. The back door of the Range Rover opened and a much shorter vigilante, appeared. That had to be Shadow.

I had found them and they looked fucking cool!

I did not _dare_ move, as they might very well kill me on sight! I lay there and watched the Range Rover. About an hour later, I heard gunfire, but it was some distance away, so I ignored it. Another half an hour later, all three Heroes suddenly appeared, running hard. Kick-Ass opened the tailgate of the Range Rover, throwing in a large holdall and the dog jumped in beside it, before Kick-Ass closed the tailgate. Shadow dived into the back seat and Kick-Ass jumped into the driver's seat. Several men burst out into the alley and started shooting at the Range Rover. Hit Girl was shot a few times, as she climbed in. I hoped that her suit would protect her. The Range Rover accelerated away, with a roar and I carefully left the alley, without being seen.

..._...

Wow, those Heroes were something else. Not just them, but their weapons and equipment. They all seemed to carry a selection of weapons and firearms, as well as melee weapons.

I was seriously impressed!

I went back to the 'hotel', before heading back to New York, the following lunchtime.

* * *

**_Two weeks later  
Friday_ **

**_Safehouse A, New York_ **

I found a little surprise that morning, while I was wandering around the internet.

Two _very_ hot, You Tube videos, which had tens of thousands of hits, starring... Hit Girl and Shadow!

I had to admit, seeing them in action, was FUCKING AWESOME!

I watched the video, almost a dozen times and maybe more! Their language was, well, foul! Nevertheless, their actions in winding up the hostage takers, was to say the least, unorthodox but cool and effective! I hated girls talking about their periods; it freaked me out a bit and was quite a bit embarrassing!

One thing hit me though, Shadow... Wow... Those damn legs were _very_ long and _very_ hot! They reminded me of Chloe's legs, hers were long like that and they were among the many things that I liked, if not loved, about her! Overall Shadow did look a little familiar. Hit Girl was hot too and with those swords...

Well, I knew what I would be thinking and dreaming about, in bed, that night!

* * *

**_One Police Plaza_ **

**_New York_ **

"Hey, Lieutenant, I sent you a link. You might enjoy it!"

I checked my email and found the link. I clicked it and a browser window popped up, it was a You Tube video. I saw the title: 'Hit Girl and Shadow show their attitude!'

Oh God! What has, that girl got herself involved with now?

A bank heist!

Those two over there, must be the girls... Those men are idiots; they watch too many damn movies...

Damn that girl has a foul mouth! 'Compensating are we?'... That made me laugh, cheeky bitch, she really knew how to piss people off! Now, that _was_ evil and I was a bit surprised at Chloe joining in, she seemed such a nice, well-mannered, young girl! I supposed that hanging around with Mindy could change anyone, just look at Dave!

Wow... Chloe has some attitude and a mouth just like Mindy's, maybe I should buy _her_ a swear jar!

So that's why they wanted Hit Girl... Chloe kinda described Hit Girl, very accurately!

That girl had no shame! Nice response, though!

Now, I had seen Mindy kill before, in that video, when I had also lost somebody I cared an awful lot about: Damon! However, seeing the girl kill, in full gory detail! I had to admit, she was good at it, no wasted movements, swift and clean.

Jesus! Chloe just stabbed the fucker! She almost lifted him clean off his feet! Talk about 'attitude', wow... That really surprised me, I did not blame her, but damn...

..._...

I watched the video again and started laughing; it was kinda amusing! Although I thought both Chloe and Mindy owed the swear jar a few bucks!

I picked up my cell and dialled.

"Morning, Lieutenant!"

"I see you have been having period problems again!" I said, trying not to laugh.

"What! Oh... You've seen the bank video!" Mindy said.

"Yeah, just now; impressive! But the language from you two...!" I laughed.

"It kinda suited the situation. Chloe thinks on her feet, very fast; I was really impressed with her!" Mindy admitted.

"She did surprise me, I'll admit that! Rather reminds me of your first period, now that was an epic saga! Keep forgetting to tell that story to Dave," I teased.

"Don't you dare, Marcus! Honestly... I... Will... Kill... You!" Mindy almost screamed, down the phone, in a panicky voice.

"That the best you've got!" I responded, refusing to be intimidated.

"For now, yeah!" Mindy replied, calming down.

"Gotta go!" I said with a laugh.

* * *

**_Four days later  
Monday_ **

**_Safehouse A, New York_ **

I woke up with mixed feelings that morning.

I was fourteen! Hip, hip, hurray!

However, I was alone!

I missed my Dad, so much that it hurt! Days, like that just sucked. Easter was bad enough, but knowing that I had nobody to be with, on that day of all days...

Normally, I would have been with my Dad and then with my friends, especially my best friend. I missed her the most, so I had checked out her place, only to find that she had moved. She was the only person that I would have wanted to be with that day.

It was not just my Dad, which I missed; I missed Chloe, too!


	8. Disturbing News

**_The following week  
Thursday_ **

**_Safehouse A, New York_ **

Bad news, very bad news, the fucking worst news; need I say more?

He was out; he was free!

He had controlled chunks of New York City from his fucking Jail Cell. What the fuck would he do, now that he was out of Jail?

Talk about shit and the proverbial fucking fan, we were not talking mouse shit here, we were talking fucking elephant shit and an enormous fucking fan!

That fucking cunt, he killed my fucking Dad!

* * *

**_Across the City, that same time_ **

**_One Police Plaza, New York_ **

Some bad news, very bad news, the fucking worst news!

He was out! We had dead guards and prisoners, scattered everywhere!

He had controlled chunks of New York City from his fucking Jail Cell. What the fuck would he do, now that he was out of Jail?

I could see a dark cloud falling over New York City; only bad things could come from the Jail break!

The only good thing?

At least Mindy was well away from all this shit!

* * *

**_The next day  
Friday_ **

**_One Police Plaza, New York_ **

Some very disturbing reports were coming in.

One man was dead, meat cleaver, to the chest.

One man was dead, thrown down a long flight of stairs, three fingers missing from his left hand. The fingers had been removed 'traumatically'!

Another man, burnt to death, using gasoline!

Another man, both kneecaps, removed with a shotgun!

It looked like Ralph D'Amico was cleaning house, in his own unique manner! I had a distinct feeling that we would be seeing a lot more of that shit!

I dialled my cell and it was answered seconds later.

"Greetings from the Windy City, common New Yorker!"

"Funny, Mindy!"

"What's got you all flustered, Marcus?" Mindy asked, cautiously.

"You've read the papers, I assume!"

Mindy's tone changed.

"Yeah, we know all about that cunt!"

"Well, he seems to be cleaning house, in New York. We have had several violent deaths. Now, if you were still here in the City...; well it's your kind of violence...," I replied.

"But it isn't me, so it must be good old Uncle Ralph!" Mindy said.

"Always knew you were a clever girl!" I laughed.

"I know that he'll start doing the same here, soon. He will want both Cities and I _am_ gonna stop him, Marcus. This doesn't end, till he follows his brother and nephew!" Mindy said, in her 'I'm Hit Girl' voice. "Two down, last one left and he is now in play; our target is Ralph D'Amico!"

"You and Dave keep safe, plus the other members of your 'Fucked Up Super Hero Club'!" I grimaced.

"I will, Marcus, love ya!" Mindy said, before the call disconnected.

God, I hope she keeps herself safe; that girl was going to be the death of me!

* * *

**_Later that day  
One Police Plaza, New York_ **

"Hey, Lieutenant! They just found Sergeant Raymond, sliced and diced, and dumped on waste ground!"

"When?"

"Looks like it was done last night, hell of a coincidence!"

"Tell me about it! Ralph fucking D'Amico!"

* * *

**_Safehouse A, New York_ **

I needed to protect myself.

But how would I do that?

With Ralph D'Amico free, to do whatever he wanted... I haf been keeping a close eye on the news. Killings, retribution, warnings... You name it!

I really was getting scared now. If Ralph D'Amico found out, that I was alive... Why would he care about a fucking fourteen-year-old brat? Because Ralph D'Amico was careful, he did not leave loose ends!

This was... insane. I was in _way_ over my head.


	9. Emotion - Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is the continuation of Forsaken, Chapter 57 - Emotion - Part I

I was taken completely by surprise.

The door behind me suddenly burst open and crashed against the wall. I grabbed the pistol that I had left on the counter top, beside me, and turned towards the intruders. Before I could aim, the pistol was kicked from my hand and I felt myself hauled out of the kitchen and thrown across the room, hitting the far wall and I was momentarily stunned.

"Invade _my_ fucking Safehouse, would you?" The intruder snarled. "You're gonna fucking regret being here, cunt!"

I stared up and tried to focus, just as a fist hit me across the jaw and I was dragged up and thrown across the room, _again_. I tried to get up, to fight back, but I was pushed back down. Next, I found myself on my back, with a sharp blade to my throat and I felt a sharp pain, as the blade bit into my throat; I could feel warm blood trickling down my neck, my blood.

I was scared, shit scared; I started to shake.

..._...

"Don't move a fucking muscle, cunt!" The girl growled. "What the fuck are you doing, in _my_ fucking Safehouse?"

"I thought – I thought it was abandoned," I stammered quickly, I was panicking and tears were starting. "I needed a place to stay!"

"Not _fucking_ good enough!" The girl growled and she started to steadily, increase the pressure on the knife. "You fucking die, cunt!"

"Please... I beg you!" I was really crying now; literally begging for my life. Then I heard another voice, from behind the girl who was about to kill me. A voice, a voice from another life, a voice... A voice that I recognised!

"Mindy! _Stop_! Fucking _stop_ , for the love of God!"

..._...

I felt the blade removed from my throat and the cold steel of a gun, put to my left temple.

"Don't fucking move!" The girl growled, viciously.

"It fucking _can't be_...!"

"What?" The girl asked, apparently annoyed and a little confused.

"Josh?"

"You _know_ this boy?" The girl demanded, incredulously.

"That's Joshua, the boy I told you about... But he's supposed to be fucking dead!"

I felt myself being yanked to my feet and I saw a, vicious faced girl, seething with rage, standing in front of me. She holstered the pistol and cleaned off her blade, which I now recognised as a Balisong, before she expertly flipped it closed, and stowed it in a pocket of her jeans. I was still shaking, but no longer crying and my throat hurt, from where I had been cut.

I turned to the other girl, the voice I had recognised, but not heard in months.

"Ch... Chloe?" I asked, incredulously; the hair was different, but those eyes...

"Yes Joshua, it's fucking Chloe!" Chloe growled back.

I was a bit shocked at the growl, but not _half_ as shocked, as I was next.

Chloe bolted across the room and kicked me in the chest, sending me flying backwards and onto the floor. Chloe then knelt astride me (which a part of me thought was cool) and started slapping me, hard!

"Why the fuck..." SLAP! "Did you not tell me..." SLAP! "That you were fucking ..." SLAP! "Alive!" SLAP!

* * *

I really had no fucking idea what the hell, was going on!

I moved forward, grabbed Chloe around the waist, and pulled her off the boy, before she killed him.

"Chloe quit it, _NOW_!" I growled into her ear.

Chloe seemed to sort herself out, quickly.

"Sorry, Mindy," Chloe said and I let her go.

"What the _fuck_ is going on!" I demanded, angrily.

"That snivelling little fuck, on the floor, is Joshua Williams. I thought the fucking bastard had died. That was why I moved to Chicago. I fucking cried for a month, for that snivelling little bastard!" Chloe spat malevolently.

"Chloe, I _did_ die, they resuscitated me. I was in a damn coma for four fucking weeks. Look..." The boy, Joshua replied, pulling up his t-shirt.

I was shocked; I could see scars, on his chest and stomach. The scars were from burns and severe lacerations.

"Okay Joshua, you can cover them," I said, quietly.

Chloe was appalled at both the scars and herself.

"I'm _so_ sorry, Josh. I really am; I didn't know," Chloe said, sobbing, as Josh came over and hugged her, tightly.

"There was no way to tell you. I tried to find you, but you had moved," Josh explained.

"I assume you have no home," I said.

"I walked out of the hospital before they found out who I was. I went home and packed what I needed, then I found this place and it seemed ideal!" Josh explained. "It looked abandoned... Sorry!"

"It was abandoned, sort of, but _not_ permanently," I replied.

* * *

We sat down, around the table, drinking coffee.

"Mindy... I... You _must_ be Hit Girl!" I stated.

Fuck!

"Can't really deny it, can I?"

"So..." I mused, looking at Chloe. "That would make you... Shadow!"

"I... I..." Chloe stammered, looking to Mindy for guidance.

"I saw you both in action, about six weeks ago, in Chicago. You looked really hot, Chloe!" Josh said, blushing deeply.

Chloe opened her mouth to reply, but closed it, as she blushed bright red! I nodded at her.

"Yes, Josh, I'm Shadow and thanks for the compliment!"

"You never told me that he was a fucking Brit!" I commented.

"Sorry, never occurred to me. I think his accent is cute and I think he is, too!" Chloe replied, blushing again and Josh blushed, too!

* * *

**_Marcus' House_ **

I insisted that Josh come back with us, to Marcus' for the night.

Not only did I want to talk to him further, but I also needed to tend the wounds, that I had inflicted! When we got back to the house, Marcus was already there.

"Hi Marcus, we have a house guest!" I said, as Marcus came out of the kitchen.

"Oh, the British vigilante!" Marcus said, in a good impression of Sean Connery.

"You two have met?" I asked, incredulously.

"Hi, err, Lieutenant!" Josh said, with a cheery little wave.

"We met in, err, my official capacity!" Marcus admitted.

"The Lieutenant cuffed me and took my, err, _your_ pistol!" Josh said, looking at me.

"It seems that I have a soft touch for vigilantes, can't think _why_!" Marcus said looking directly at me and making me feel uncomfortable. I noticed that Chloe looked the same way.

"We found him at Safehouse A, he'd been living there. I kinda got a little bit angry and threw him around a bit!" I admitted.

"You beat up a young boy and... What is _that_?" Marcus exclaimed, looking at Joshua closely. " _You slit his throat_!"

"Well, I _am_ Hit Girl, I _hit_ , and I don't _tap gently_!" I retorted. ""I was _very_ annoyed, at the time, about him invading _my_ Safehouse!"

"So he knows about your, err, little, purple problem?" Marcus quipped.

"Yes, he does. He knows about Chloe, too!" I replied. "It also sounds like you owe me a pistol, Marcus!"

"You'll get it back... Probably!"

..._...

Chloe helped me to tidy up Josh's wounds, especially his neck!

I noticed that they both kept blushing, every time that Chloe touched Josh's skin! It was very sweet and Marcus said so, which made them both blush bright red! There was something good about these two, but I sensed that something was not right about the boy and for some reason I did not trust him. Nevertheless, for now, I thought that we might need his help.

Marcus served dinner and we all sat down to eat.

"So young Joshua, how did you end up in Mindy's, vigilante nut house?" Marcus asked, getting a scowl from me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are advised to read Feral, Chapter 10 - Sleep of The Vigilante - Day 1 next...


	10. Sleep of The Vigilante - Day 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter operates in parallel with Forsaken, Chapter 58 – Sleep of the Vigilante – Day 1, but you should read this chapter first...
> 
> Please note that New York and Chicago are in different time zones. Therefore, New York times are one hour ahead of Chicago. I have attempted to take these timings into account.

**The next day  
Monday**

**The following takes place between Midnight and 1:00 A.M.**

**Marcus' House, New York City**

**0:56 A.M.**

I had only been in bed a couple of hours or so, when Marcus shook me awake.

I could tell from the look on his face that this was not going to be good news! Apparently, Jack Bay had called, from Chicago, and something nasty was brewing. Jack was convinced that Ralph D'Amico was behind it; it could be nobody else.

Marcus said that he had to go out of town for a few days.

Marcus insisted that I stay in New York and try to put that bastard (Marcus' word, not mine) down, as soon as possible.

I couldn't sleep after that, so I helped Marcus to get his kit together. He would be catching an early morning flight, in just a few hours. I told him to be careful and he said the same thing to me.

* * *

**The following takes place between 4:00 A.M. and 5:00 A.M.**

**Marcus' House, New York City**

**4:52 A.M.**

Marcus left for the airport.

I felt sad.

I stayed in the kitchen worrying about Marcus; I didn't want to go back to bed.

* * *

**The following takes place between 5:00 A.M. and 6:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse A, New York City**

**5:30 A.M.**

Well, I had finally met them!

I had met Hit girl and Shadow. Admittedly, my first meeting with Hit Girl, could have gone a little better, but then Hit Girl didn't usually knock and then shake hands! Without realising it, I had found myself rubbing my throat.

To top things off, I found out that the love of my life, Chloe, was Shadow! She was the last person, I would ever have expected to meet, or for that matter, to come crashing through a door pointing a pistol in my face. Mind you, I was damn grateful that she recognised me when she did and called off Hit Girl, before... I could not even think about what might have happened!

Talk about emotions; yesterday was a fucking roller-coaster. I now knew why Lieutenant Williams let me go, that night when he found out that I was a vigilante; his own daughter was one and not just any vigilante, but the famous Hit Girl!

* * *

**The following takes place between 6:00 A.M. and 7:00 A.M.**

**Marcus' House, New York City**

**6:34 A.M.**

"When did you get up?" Chloe asked, coming into the kitchen to find me at the kitchen table, nursing a coffee.

"Marcus had to go out of town suddenly and I couldn't go back to sleep. You sleep okay?"

"Sort of, thanks! Where's Josh?"

"He woke up earlier and headed back to the Safehouse, to shower and change. I have his cell number and I told him we'd call, if and when we need him."

"I'm hungry."

"Come on, get dressed and I'll buy you breakfast!" I decided and we both went upstairs to get dressed.

* * *

**The following takes place between 7:00 A.M. and 8:00 A.M.**

**Marcus' House, New York City**

**7:12 A.M.**

We left the house and Mindy drove the rented motorcycle from the garage. This had been pre-arranged from Chicago, the previous week and had been delivered, late on the previous night.

It was a black BMW R1200-GS motorcycle. Mindy had brought a navy blue, full face helmet with her and I had mine, Mindy's purple helmet was a bit obvious. We were both wearing leather jackets, pants, gauntlets and boots. Both leather jackets had synthetic linings, similar to our combat suits. Mindy's was black, grey and purple, while mine was black, grey and navy blue. We both had our concealed comms ear-buds, as well as our concealed pistols, as per the day before.

You know, I must get one of these for use at home, it sucks that I can only use the Ducati as Hit Girl!" Mindy commented.

"So that'll be another motorcycle that I'll be hanging onto the back of for dear life!" I groaned.

"You don't trust me?" Mindy asked, dangerously.

"Well... I do feel safer on the Fat Boy!" I replied, just as Mindy accelerated hard, forcing me to grip tighter.

"Fucking hell, Mindy!" I yelled, feeling scared.

"Sorry!" Mindy replied, almost pissing herself with laughter, as she slowed down.

Bitch!

Twenty minutes later, we pulled into a McDonald's and we went in for breakfast.

**7:42 A.M.**

"Who is Ralph D'Amico? I mean, I know who the D'Amico's are but, who exactly is he?" Chloe asked.

"Brother of Frank D'Amico. Uncle to Chris D'Amico. He is the worst of the lot, the most evil, and the most sadistic. He is as good at being evil, as I am at being Hit Girl!" I explained.

"That does not sound good!" Chloe admitted, looking worried.

"He has a special place for me and Kick-Ass, in his heart! We killed his brother and his nephew, so he really has no reason to love us!" I explained, darkly.

"Chris was just a deranged lunatic, but Ralph... He is cold and calculating; we have one hell of an uphill struggle ahead of us!" I said, sadly. "We need to up our game, watch our backs. Ralph will not come up with half-assed plans, his will work and that's what worries me!"

* * *

**The following takes place between 8:00 A.M. and 9:00 A.M.**

**New York City**

**8:55 A.M.**

After a large breakfast, we left the McDonald's and headed further into the City. I needed to reacquaint myself with the City where I was born, as it had been quite a few months since I was last there and some things would have changed.

It was also a very good excuse to ride the BMW!

* * *

**The following takes place between 9:00 A.M. and 10:00 A.M.**

**Central Park, New York City**

**9:40 A.M.**

We stopped in Central Park, to get some fresh air and exercise. I liked Central Park, it was relatively peaceful and calming compared to the rest of the always bustling, New York City.

I parked the BMW and we started walking around the park and discussing what we were going to do next.

* * *

**The following takes place between 10:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M.**

**Central Park, New York City**

**10:48 A.M.**

We were still walking around Central Park when my cell rang. It was Dave.

"Hi lover!" I said, happily.

"Hi gorgeous!" Dave replied.

It was so good, just hearing his voice! I was happy, until Dave described the phone call from Marcus. So that was where he went and why. Damn!

We needed to be smart and we needed to operate smart, to protect both New York and Chicago.

If Ralph D'Amico wanted to take these Cities, he would need to go through us!

He was already planning to remove us; to get us out of the way! The Chicago authorities would stand no chance; they had struggled against Chris' lame efforts! New York would be the same, but they hadn't fought Dave D'Amico over the last few months, so had even less experience!

* * *

**The following takes place between 11:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M.**

**New York City**

**11:10 A.M.**

We left Central Park and headed towards Battery Park; I was enjoying the time, riding through Manhattan. I felt freedom, which I couldn't, on a purple Ducati, which attracted far too much attention!

* * *

**The following takes place between 12:00 P.M. and 1:00 P.M.**

**New York City**

**12:05 P.M.**

We were both hungry, so we grabbed some hot dogs and sat on the ground to eat them, leaning against the BMW.

Chloe attracted attention from some male teenagers, who thought she was very 'hot' in the leathers. Chloe, being Chloe, lapped up the attention and moved to show off her curves!

"So much for covert, Chloe!" I growled.

"You've gotta enjoy it when you can!" Chloe replied, shamelessly.

**12:40 P.M.**

I was starting to feel tired, thanks to the early start, that morning.

"Chloe, time to show you some more Hit Girl secrets!" I said.

* * *

**The following takes place between 1:00 P.M. and 2:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**1:15 P.M.**

"Welcome to Safehouse C!" I said, waving Chloe in the door.

"Wow! It's very nice, love the mat! So this is where you trained Dave. I'm impressed," Chloe said, in awe.

"Needs a damn good clean!" I commented, as I looked around.

**1:48 P.M.**

It took us half an hour, just to clean the mat and equipment, so we could use it, without choking on the dust! The rest of the place would have to wait.

* * *

**The following takes place between 2:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York**

**2:12 P.M.**

This felt good.

I enjoyed being back here, as this place had many happy memories, including those where I was kicking the shit out of Dave! Those thoughts made me laugh, remembering Dave's early feeble attempts.

If I had had a normal conscience, I'd have felt bad about what I did to Dave and how I had treated him. But I didn't have a normal conscience, so I just laughed about it!

Once we had changed the bedding, we both decided on a cat nap, before going out again.

* * *

**The following takes place between 3:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York**

**3:30 P.M.**

The nap made a big difference, plus following it with a nice hot shower, brought us both back to life.

It was now time to head out again.

* * *

**The following takes place between 4:00 P.M. and 5:00 P.M.**

**D'Amico Warehouse, New York**

**4:14 P.M.**

I pulled up, about twenty yards from our destination.

"Oh fuck!" I said.

"Mindy, what's wrong?" Chloe asked.

"That building was not there, the last time I was here! Last time I was here, was last year. Back then it was a burnt out, hell hole, where my Daddy died!"

"You mean, that video was filmed here?"

"Yeah! But now there is a nice brand new structure here and those are not ordinary security guards; they are D'Amico thugs, if I've ever seen one!" I growled, pulling away smartly.

**4:42 P.M.**

We went back to cruising around New York, on the BMW. It gave me time to think.

"Okay, I've been thinking. If D'Amico has rebuilt that warehouse, he is probably reusing his brother's other properties!" I said, pulling over and slamming on the brakes. "Come on, I need some fresh air!"

* * *

**The following takes place between 5:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M.**

**Central Park, New York**

**5:04 P.M.**

I was worried about Mindy.

We had walked around, for over ten minutes, without talking. Finally Mindy sat down on a bench and looked at me. I could see tears in her eyes and that both shocked and scared me.

I had had enough.

"Talk to me Mindy!" I insisted. "You helped me, let me help you!"

"I'm sorry. It's just that the next place, that D'Amico may be... Well it has a lot of bad memories attached. I almost died there, twice and guess who saved me?" Mindy started to explain.

"Dave, I know!" I replied. "Look Mindy, nobody ever said this was gonna be easy! Use me, for the reconnaissance, you keep well away from the building, please, I can do it!"

Mindy sat there for several minutes, before responding.

"Okay Chloe. They won't know you, so it should be easy. We'll give you a concealed camera and you can go in, tomorrow morning. I'll need to brief you on what the place used to be like, first," Mindy said, finally. "And thanks, Chloe."

"You'd do the same for me," I said, feeling happy that I could help.

**5:35 P.M.**

We left Central Park and went to find some pizza.

Apparently, Mindy missed proper New York pizzas, but then so did I. We found a place, where we could sit down and talk, with some anonymity.

* * *

**The following takes place between 6:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M.**

**Safe House C, New York**

**6:54 P.M.**

We had spent a lot of time talking and eating pizza. The food helped me feel a lot better and I was enjoying spending the time with Chloe. She really was a lovely girl and fun to chat with. We had many things in common, which was a surprise and we were only three years apart, in age. I never had much of a chance to be a teenaged girl, which showed, the previous year when those bitches got their claws into me!

It was nice to be able to talk about other things, things that were not related to being a vigilante or D'Amico! I enjoyed listening to Chloe, as she told me about her life, unfortunately I didn't have much to say on the matter, as my life, as I grew up, was very different.

I did kinda regret missing out on everything that Chloe had experienced.

* * *

**The following takes place between 7:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M.**

**Safe House C, New York**

**7:22 P.M.**

The thought of assaulting the D'Amico Penthouse brought up many, previously hidden, emotions. The last time that I had helped to plan an assault on this building, I had been doing it with my Daddy. I was determined that this time it would work!

I started pounding the punch-bag, pretending it was Ralph fucking D'Amico! Chloe was flipping around the mat, working out her muscles. She was very flexible, when she needed to be! We were both focusing on the mission ahead, as far as possible.

I had transferred some of the equipment from Marcus' house and I sat down to clean the weapons. Our combat suits had survived the trip and I had hung them up, ready for use.

* * *

**The following takes place between 8:00 P.M. and 9:00 P.M.**

**Safe House C, New York**

**8:53 P.M.**

I was worn out, so dived into a shower and decided to get to bed early and advised Chloe to do the same, as we would be spending whole nights out.

* * *

**The following takes place between 9:00 P.M. and 10:00 P.M.**

**Safe House C, New York**

**9:22 P.M.**

I was awoken by a large explosion.

"What the fuck was that?" Chloe asked, coming into the bedroom.

"I have no fucking idea, but it can't be good!" I replied, grabbing some clothes.

**9:31 P.M.**

We were on the roof, of the building, looking east.

There was something burning, very brightly on the water.

It seemed to be a boat or a ship, of some sort. Could this have something to do with D'Amico? We would have to wait until the morning to find out.

We watched for another ten minutes before going back to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are advised to read Forsaken, Chapter 58 – Sleep of the Vigilante – Day 1 next...


	11. Sleep of The Vigilante - Day 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter operates in parallel with Forsaken, Chapter 59: Sleep of the Vigilante – Day 2, which should be read first...

**The next day  
Tuesday**

**The following takes place between Midnight and 5:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

I kept waking up.

That bastard D'Amico was constantly on my mind and I could hear that Chloe was restless, too.

What nightmares did D'Amico have waiting for us? Hopefully his new nightmares would be no worse than those I had already!

* * *

**The following takes place between 5:00 A.M. and 6:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**5:42 A.M.**

Dave just called and told me about the Firehouse being bombed.

D'Amico was escalating; that was _not_ good and Dave had agreed. He had been very worried when I had told him about the explosion, the previous night.

I promised that Chloe and I would look after each other and stay safe.

* * *

**The following takes place between 6:00 A.M. and 7:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**6:12 A.M.**

I finally found out what the explosion was, the previous night.

It was an FDNY fire boat that was blown up! D'Amico being as creative as ever. Quite a few Firefighters were dead, needlessly. However, that small act, caused a lot of fear across the City, as D'Amico most probably planned!

I really was shocked at the depths that D'Amico would go, to cause trouble.

Targeting the Police and Fire Department was just wrong!

* * *

**The following takes place between 7:00 A.M. and 10:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

I woke Chloe up and we spent the next couple of hours training and training.

We had to be better than anything that D'Amico could throw at us!

**9:05 A.M.**

We were both dripping sweat and very hungry.

We showered and had a good breakfast, before sitting down to talk things through and work out a plan for finding and taking down Ralph D'Amico.

* * *

**The following takes place between 10:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**10:22 A.M.**

I came to a decision.

"Chloe call that brat of a boyfriend of yours and tell him to meet you, down the block!" I said.

"He's not my boyfriend... Well, maybe he is..." Chloe stopped and picked up her cell, while I grinned and she went slightly red.

**10:47 A.M.**

The Safehouse door clicked open and Chloe entered, followed by Josh.

"This must be quite a novelty for you, Joshua!" I teased.

"Why?"

"Not having to break into one of my Safehouses!"

"Funny!" Josh responded, looking around. "So this is where you trained; I knew there had to be another place!"

"He's not as stupid as he looks, is he?" I responded, slightly impressed. "Okay, Joshua, I'm gonna give you the benefit of the doubt, at least for now."

"We want you to help us, we're going up against Ralph D'Amico!" Chloe said.

"Suits me fine; he killed my Dad! I'll do whatever you want, Hit Girl!" Josh replied, then smirked. "Within reason, of course!"

"Wind down your hormones, Josh, I have some body armour, for you. Much better than the crap you've been using!" I said.

* * *

**The following takes place between 11:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M.**

**The D'Amico Apartment Building, New York City**

**11:42 A.M.**

Joshua was now wearing body armour, under his normal clothes, which made him look a little larger than usual, but otherwise he looked normal – for him anyway. He was there as backup for Chloe, while I stayed hidden, a block away. I had loaned Josh a spare, concealed comms ear-bud and shown him how to use it. Chloe would not be armed, at all, for this reconnaissance. That had included removing her Balisong, which she only did reluctantly and I had it in my pocket, along with her FN Five-seveN pistol and holster. I didn't want Chloe caught by a corrupt cop, while armed. Josh, I really didn't care about, so he was armed with his/my Glock 26, which I had recovered from Marcus!

Chloe looked like any other kid, walking down the street. I watched her through some binoculars, from my cover.

Chloe was her typically, brazen self and walked without any hesitation, directly up to the building and straight up to the main doors, before the doorman turned her away. Chloe swore at the man, before setting off in the direction she had been walking.

I was actually very impressed. She did really well and I hoped no suspicion would be attached to her.

* * *

**The following takes place between 12:00 P.M. and 1:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**12:32 P.M.**

Josh and I were back at the Safehouse first.

Chloe came in giggling, a few minutes later.

"I enjoyed that!" She exclaimed, with a mischievous grin, on her face!

I hesitated, I had not seen Chloe like this before, but apparently Josh had!

"What did you do, this time?" Josh asked, with an exasperated tone.

"I'll trade ya!" Chloe said, ignoring Josh and holding out her hand to me.

"You had better not have done anything stupid!" I cautioned, handing back both her Balisong and the holstered pistol.

Chloe just smiled and dumped a disassembled cell phone, onto the kitchen table.

"You lifted the doorman's mobile phone?" Josh blurted out.

I was actually rather impressed. It had never occurred to me to do that! Chloe had also thought to remove the battery and SIM card, so nobody could track the phone!

"You clever, little, brazen bitch!" I exclaimed, giving her a hug. This girl was good, really good.

Then a thought occurred to me.

"Where and when, did you learn to lift things from people's pockets?" I asked.

"Let's just say a girl needs to keep some secrets, eh, Hit Girl!" Chloe replied, looking a little shy.

"You knew Chloe had been up to something?" I asked, looking at Josh.

"Yeah, I've seen that look before, when she's done something out of the ordinary and usually bad or naughty!" Josh replied.

"Such as?" I hinted.

"Joshua, open your mouth again and I will shut it permanently!" Chloe said, blushing, as she expertly flipped open the Balisong, meaningfully.

"What psycho taught you to use that fucking thing, anyway?" Josh asked.

"That psycho," I replied proudly. "Would be me!"

"You two are fucking nuts!" Josh replied.

**12:43 P.M.**

I called Marty, to tell him that I was sending him the phone, next day delivery, early A.M. and he should get onto it directly. I also told him where the phone had come from and that it was 'hot' and he should take precautions to prevent anybody finding its location. Marty assured me that that would not be a problem and he would let us know the results, as soon as possible.

It was only after I had put the cell down, that it occurred to me, that I should have asked to speak with Dave!

I started going through the video, that had been recorded during Chloe's little trip.

Both doormen looked ordinary, but were armed.

The double doors had armoured glass, which had been expected.

Damn! That lobby brought back some memories, or two, none of them good! That was just about the only successful part of my previous visit to that building! This time, though, Dave wasn't around to save me, if all went to crap.

I would need to work on a plan. I couldn't just dress up as a little girl again, I thought that they would be wise to that little ploy! Plus neither Chloe, nor I, were young enough to pull that one off and Josh hadn't got the legs!

I would need to come up with something different, completely. It would need to be completely unexpected, or D'Amico would have already thought of it and put defences in place.

* * *

**The following takes place between 1:00 P.M. and 2:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**1:22 P.M.**

Now, that was interesting.

I was seeing a completely different side to Chloe. She was and she wasn't the Chloe I used to know. The sweet, giggly girl, was still there, but so was the serious vigilante. I knew that Chloe was very much into Aikido and that was how I had met her, while we were in Martial Arts class, at school. I never knew she would actually go as far as becoming a young vigilante, I wondered what made her do it?

Anyway, she really was hot and not to mention the fact that she had grown a bit, in all the right places! Yeah, I knew she was not big in the breast department; I'd seen girls Chloe's age with bigger, but I liked compact and Chloe was compact, all over! Not so sure about the new hair colour, but it may grow on me! I supposed she'd had to dye her hair after that vicious attack at the bank, in Chicago. Knowing that the girl in the video had been Chloe, had really shocked me, the behaviour was well... Way out of character, but way cool!

I just hoped that I could keep her, once this is all over. I supposed that I would have to move to Chicago. Maybe Hit Girl would take me on; that could prove be a long shot, as I didn't think Mindy liked me very much!

Hopefully Chloe can put in a good word for me, once this shit was all over.

* * *

**The following takes place between 2:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**2:01 P.M.**

Mindy treated me to lunch, which was a nice surprise. Maybe my charm was working.

Then again, maybe she just wanted me as cannon-fodder!

* * *

**The following takes place between 3:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M.**

**D'Amico Penthouse, New York City**

**3:45 P.M.**

"Boss, Arkady has been killed, by the Chicago PD," Rico said.

"What! They were supposed to be investigating those vigilante lunatics!" D'Amico responded, a little perturbed. "How the hell did they find him?"

"Our information says that they are not investigating Fusion," Rico replied.

"Is that right? Then we must dissuade them," D'Amico responded, with an evil smile.

* * *

**The following takes place between 4:00 P.M. and 5:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**4:22 P.M.**

I sent Joshua back to the other Safehouse for now, so that Chloe and I could prepare for the night's action.

The intention was to check out the area immediately around the D'Amico Penthouse. There were also several buildings that might have proved suitable for the plan that was slowly forming in my mind.

* * *

**The following takes place between 5:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**5:42 P.M.**

We went out to grab ourselves something hot to eat.

That turned out to be pizza, which filled us up. Chloe had a surprisingly good appetite and could put away quite a lot of food! But then we would be burning quote a few calories, as the week progressed.

* * *

**The following takes place between 6:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**6:55 P.M.**

We were back at the Safehouse and ready to gear up.

For some reason, going anywhere near that D'Amico building made me nervous. I thought that Chloe had noticed it too, but I was glad I had Chloe, there was no way I could have done it on my own. Even with Dave, it might have been a problem, as I was sure that he was no fan of that place either!

* * *

**The following takes place between 7:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M.**

**Central Park, New York City**

**7:55 P.M.**

We were loitering in a dark alley, just nearby Central Park.

This time, we were on the Ducati and in our combat suits, ready for anything.

"You ready?" Hit Girl asked.

"I am, but are you?" I replied, knowing that Mindy was not happy going anywhere near our destination!

"I'll be fine, thanks for asking," Hit Girl replied.

* * *

**The following takes place between 8:00 P.M. and 9:00 P.M.**

**New York City**

**8:33 P.M.**

We carefully checked out each of the buildings that surrounded the D'Amico Penthouse. The majority were commercial properties, with at least one being residential.

The commercial properties were expected to have better security, than the residential ones. However the commercial properties would have less people around during the later hours of the day.

At least that was my logic.

* * *

**The following takes place between 9:00 P.M. and 10:00 P.M.**

**New York City**

**9:55 P.M.**

I had excluded several blocks, by this stage and there was only, really, one option remaining.

* * *

**The following takes place between 10:00 P.M. and 11:00 P.M.**

**New York City**

**10:11 P.M.**

Chloe and I were one block over from the D'Amico Penthouse building. I wanted to checkout that particular building, as it was slightly taller than the D'Amico building and it had a flat roof.

My idea was extreme, but we needed extreme, to defeat Ralph D'Amico.

We managed to find our way up to the roof. It was expansive and had a solidly built lift shaft that extended above the flat roof. From this vantage point we could see down onto the D'Amico Penthouse.

I could now plan my entry.

* * *

**The following takes place between 11:00 P.M. and Midnight**

**D'Amico Penthouse, New York City**

**11:50 P.M.**

"So... No explosion, I assume!" D'Amico seethed.

"No, Boss," Rico said, felling a little concerned for his health.

"If at first you don't succeed, Rico...?"

"Try, try again, Boss!"

"Call Vasily, in Chicago, I have a job for him, an urgent job!"

"By your command!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are advised to read Forsaken, Chapter 60: Sleep of the Vigilante – Day 3 next...


	12. Sleep of The Vigilante - Day 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter operates in parallel with Forsaken, Chapter 60: Sleep of the Vigilante – Day 3, which should be read first...

**The next day  
Wednesday**

**The following takes place between Midnight and 2:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**1:26 A.M.**

"What the hell, is all the damn giggling in aid of?" A very grumpy and tired looking Chloe exclaimed.

"Sorry, was I a bit loud?" I replied, trying to stop giggling.

"A bit loud! I'm surprised they can't fucking hear you in London!" Chloe retorted.

The source of the voice causing the giggling, was still saying sweet things into my ear, which did not help the situation!

"Can't you two have phone sex quietly?" Chloe growled, before going back to her room and slamming the door.

"Dave, I love you, but I do need to sleep!" I said, with a giggle, into the cell.

"Just wanted to make sure that you were okay! I miss you," Dave said.

"I miss you, too, lover!"

* * *

**The following takes place between 2:00 A.M. and 3:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse A, New York City**

**2:06 A.M.**

I awoke from a nasty nightmare.

I had had them regularly, since coming out of the coma. They really shook me up.

Up until now, I haven't had anybody to talk to, but now...

I took a deep breath and called Chloe.

"What the fuck do _you_ want?" Chloe announced.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, I... I'll call you tomorrow," I replied quickly.

"Hey, Josh, sorry... I, err, got woken up by Mindy, err, giggling! What's up?"

"It's nothing, I'm sorry I disturbed you," I said, chickening out. What a fucking pussy!

"Joshua, I know you and I can tell something is wrong, talk to me," Chloe ordered.

"Ever since I came out of the coma, I've been having nightmares and up until now, I've had nobody to talk to. The only person in my life that I could ever talk to was gone, but now she's back..." I explained, feeling shy and embarrassed.

Chloe didn't reply immediately and I was sure I had heard a small gasp.

"Can we meet, tomorrow, just the two of us?" I asked, tentatively.

"Yeah, I'll arrange something," Chloe replied.

* * *

**The following takes place between 6:00 A.M. and 7:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**6:10 A.M.**

I woke up, feeling like I hadn't slept.

I felt crappy.

Typical, the one week I did not need any more problems and I got my fucking period! Damn it!

I buried my face in the pillow and screamed.

It did not make me feel any better!

* * *

**The following takes place between 7:00 A.M. and 8:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**7:01 A.M.**

I could stay in bed, no longer.

I went through to Chloe's room, where Chloe was still asleep and dreaming. She was also talking in her sleep and she had an enormous grin on her face. The only word that I could recognise was 'Josh'!

I laughed, it was funny and very sweet!

But, I was hungry, so I gave Chloe a hard nudge, with my foot and was unceremoniously dumped onto my backside, when Chloe grabbed the foot and pulled.

"Oh, sorry Mindy!"

"You thought it might have been Josh..." I teased.

"Josh... No!" Chloe stammered, but the red face said otherwise!

"Move! I'm hungry, let's go get something to eat!" I said and went off to get a shower and some clothes.

**7:50 A.M.**

We cruised through early morning New York City, on the BMW, and found a good place for a large breakfast. For some reason I needed pancakes and apparently Chloe did too.

* * *

**The following takes place between 8:00 A.M. and 9:00 A.M.**

**New York City**

**8:10 A.M.**

A 'Breaking News' report was on the television in the diner.

Chloe and I were appalled at the devastation being depicted in Chicago.

D'Amico had gone too fucking far! Taking out a whole precinct headquarters!

Was he fucking nuts?

No, just evil!

* * *

**The following takes place between 10:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**10:10 A.M.**

My cell beeped.

It was a text from Marty, telling me that he had sent over the contents of the smartphone, by email. I dugout the Toughbook and accessed my emails. The one from Marty, was enormous and took quite a while to download.

* * *

**The following takes place between 11:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M.**

**One Police Plaza, New York City**

**11:05 A.M.**

I dropped off my bags at home, changed and then went directly to my desk.

I had work to do!

First thing though, I called Mindy.

I informed her about the bombings in Chicago and not surprisingly, she was still shocked, having seen the news earlier. She was also glad that I was back in New York. I was pleased that she and Chloe, were both safe.

I suggested the girls came over, that evening and Mindy agreed.

* * *

**The following takes place between 12:00 P.M. and 1:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse A, New York City**

**12:17 P.M.**

There was a knock on the door.

I was nervous, really nervous and kinda excited! This would be the first time alone with Chloe, in months.

I opened the door and found Chloe, alone.

"Where's the other one?" I asked.

"I persuaded her to walk around the block a few times," Chloe said, shyly.

"Come in, sit down, you, err, look good," I tried and felt myself blush.

Chloe pushed her hair back behind an ear and looked embarrassed. We both sat down on the couch and neither of us said anything, for several minutes. Finally Chloe broke the silence.

"You tell me about your nightmares and I'll tell you about mine. Fair trade?" Chloe said, holding my hand.

Her touch was electrifying.

I'd never had those feelings before!

* * *

**The following takes place between 1:00 P.M. and 2:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse A, New York City**

**13:05 P.M.**

There was a knock on the door.

I got up and let Mindy in.

"You two finished fucking!" Mindy asked, facetiously, closing the door behind her.

I saw Chloe's mouth drop open in shock and embarrassment.

"Mindy, we never...!" We both started.

"Just fuckin' with ya!" Mindy laughed. "Your faces, what a picture!"

"You're a bitch, you know that, don't you?" Chloe responded.

"I'm sorry. Seriously, you both okay?" Mindy asked, showing genuine concern.

"Yeah, we've just been talking over things," I said.

"You've both been talking over your nightmares," Mindy stated.

Chloe and I both started to respond with denials, but Mindy cut us off.

"Cut the crap! Joshua has been through hell, I know what that's like and I know Chloe gets nightmares, too, I've witnessed them. There is nothing wrong with talking about them, believe me. The main problem is finding somebody to talk to, especially somebody who can actually relate, with what you have been through. I have Dave and Dave has me, Chloe has me and I have Chloe. Josh you now have Chloe and Chloe has you," Mindy said. "If you need to talk, I will listen too."

"Thanks Mindy. I didn't think you actually even liked me!" I replied.

"You're growin' on me, just don't push it!" Mindy replied, with a smile.

* * *

**The following takes place between 5:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

We both got cleaned up, as we were going to see Marcus. I was really looking forward to it!

We had enjoyed a reasonable afternoon, at the other Safehouse. Josh was indeed growing on me, but for some reason I still didn't trust him and I didn't know why.

Maybe I was just suspicious after that whole Red Mist/Hawk debacle!

**5:25 P.M.**

"Come on, Chloe, we need to leave!" I called.

"Coming!"

* * *

**The following takes place between 6:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M.**

**Marcus' House, New York City**

Mindy and Chloe arrived soon after six.

"Marcus!" Mindy yelled, running to give me a, very tight, hug, almost as soon as she came in the door!

"Did you miss me?" I asked, grinning.

"Hell, yes!" Mindy replied, all smiles.

We sat down for a large meal that I had prepared.

It felt good to be able to rest for a few minutes and I was sure that the girls felt the same way. I was very glad that I had the time to sit with Mindy and Chloe. They both seemed pleased to be here, but I noticed that they both seemed very tired. I hoped they weren't overdoing things, especially Mindy! Dave said that she could be like the damn Energizer Bunny, at times and I believed him!

I had prepared some steaks and the two girls dug in, as if they hadn't eaten in a month; I was glad that I had picked large ones!

"How has the British kid been?" I asked.

"Josh? He has his uses, I suppose!" Chloe replied, in between mouthfuls of food.

"He helped us out yesterday and did you know that Chloe can pick pockets?" Mindy asked, smirking at Chloe.

"You bitch!" Chloe retorted, laughing. "You can't say that to a Cop!"

"Picking pockets is okay; it's a great improvement on what Mindy's gotten up to in the past!" I commented, smirking at Mindy and making her squirm.

Chloe gave Mindy a smug grin, to which Mindy glared in return, then both girls went back to their food!

"You found him yet?" I asked.

"D'Amico? I think so. I've a feeling he's buried in the D'Amico Penthouse or at his warehouse," Mindy replied.

"I think you may be right. D'Amico has been waving his check book around and certain people are pretending that the D'Amico building doesn't even exist! Same for that warehouse. Any cop goes near either and they'll lose their job. They would probably 'go missing', too!" I grimaced.

"Well, I have some ideas, but it'll require all of Hit Girl's ingenuity and skill!" Mindy said, proudly.

"Hit Girl can't do it without her Shadow!" Chloe added, with an evil grin at Mindy.

"I managed okay last time!" Mindy retorted, with an equally evil grin.

"Yeah, right! Kick-Ass had to save your little, purple, ass!" Chloe stated. "This time I'll have to do it!"

"Okay, let's ease down on the banter, before it turns violent!" I cautioned.

"I'd win!" Chloe said, quietly.

"Is that a fact?" Mindy responded.

"Oh, yeah!" Chloe retorted.

Mindy started to respond.

"Mindy! Not one word!" I laughed. "Hang on, you aren't both on... Dave warned me about that!"

"Marcus, don't start! You don't want to antagonise us this week. No sleep and... Female things, don't go together well!" Mindy warned.

"Look Mindy, I can remember your very first period!" I said and started laughing at the thought of it.

"Not one more word, Marcus! I warned you; that story is never to be told!" Mindy said, sounding panicky.

"This sounds good, tell me more!" Chloe encouraged, with an evil grin.

"Was _your_ first period, full of happy memories, Chloe?" Mindy demanded, sarcastically.

"Not really, but then nothing weird happened!" Chloe responded.

"Well..." I started.

"Marcus, no!" Mindy almost screamed.

"... You know that Mindy likes blood, in fact she'd bathe in it, given half a chance!" I continued.

"I am not _that_ bad!" Mindy exclaimed, incredulously, with a, 'I can't believe you just said that' look!

"You are, actually!" Chloe commented. "I've seen you!"

"Okay, I'll leave it there!" I said, satisfied that I had wound Mindy up enough and got her mind off other things.

"You can't..." Chloe started, before shutting up and looking depressed.

Mindy smiled her thanks at me!

* * *

**The following takes place between 8:00 P.M. and Midnight**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**8:40 P.M.**

We were back at the Safehouse, having enjoyed a wonderful time with Marcus and the food was to die for!

We spent the next couple of hours going through Marty's email. There was a lot of shit to read through.

**10:48 P.M.**

We finally decided to call it a night and crawled into bed, very tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those in Europe, who don't know about the 'Energizer Bunny', it's the same as the 'Duracell Bunny'!
> 
> You are advised to read Forsaken, Chapter 61: Sleep of the Vigilante – Day 4 next...


	13. Sleep of The Vigilante - Day 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is in parallel with Forsaken, Chapter 61, and you should read that chapter first...

**The next day  
Thursday**

**The following takes place between Midnight and 1:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

I just needed this damn crap to end, I was _so_ exhausted.

It didn't help that I was getting irritable and grumpy, either. I was starting to shout at Chloe, quite unreasonably and instantly regretted it, every time I did shout at her! Chloe appeared to be suffering the same stress as me, as she was sniping at _me_ , over petty little things, too. Poor Josh was the worst off, as he got the crap from both of us! I was actually surprised that he hadn't left the country, considering he was facing a pair of hormonal bitches, like us!

I had finally arrived at the stage, where I thought that I was too tired to sleep, which really sounded stupid! But it was true, I could not sleep!

..._...

I'd been going through all the stuff that Marty had sent me, the stuff that came off that idiot's cell. Annoyingly, I couldn't concentrate enough to make sense of it. Chloe tried to help, but I told her where to go, none too politely. So... Currently we weren't talking; how shit could things get! We should be a team, but no, we're being immature and saying stupid things to each other! Thank God, Dave wasn't here to see our behaviour!

I heard something smash in a bedroom. I had the feeling that Chloe was feeling the stress, too and needed to let off steam! When she got angry, she got fucking angry, but then, so did I!

**0:42 A.M.**

My cell rang.

Who the fuck was calling me, at that time in the fucking morning.

"What?" I growled.

"Hey, growly girl!" Abby laughed.

"Oh, it's you Abby! What's up?" I asked, trying to be polite. It wouldn't be fair to abuse Abby.

"Something is brewing in Central Park. You girls wanna investigate? You might need your assault rifles!" Abby explained.

"How the hell, would you know what's happening in Central Park?" I asked, incredulously.

"As my hero, Alec Hardison, says: 'Age of the geek, baby!'" Abby replied.

"Funny! Send us what you have and I'll apply _leverage_ to get grumpy out of bed!" I responded and hung up the cell. Yeah, I watch Leverage, too!

**0:49 A.M.**

"Chloe! We need to suit up!" I called, from outside her bedroom.

"I'm fucking coming!" Was the, not too polite, response. There also followed a stream of unprintable obscenities!

* * *

**The following takes place between 1:00 A.M. and 2:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**1:02 A.M.**

"So what the fuck is happening now?" Chloe growled, looking thoroughly pissed off.

"What's got you all riled up? Tampon got stuck?" I quipped.

Chloe looked like she was going to explode with rage.

"Calm down, Chloe! I was kidding and I'm sorry about earlier, you know I didn't mean it!" I apologised.

"I know, I just... I dunno, this is all so fucking shit; I wish it was over. We still friends?" Chloe asked.

"Forever!" I replied and laughed. "God that sounds lame!"

"It does kinda!" Chloe replied, laughing too.

"Hal called, something is happening in Central Park, apparently!" I explained.

"How...?"

"Don't ask! 'Age of the geek', apparently!"

* * *

**The following takes place between 2:00 A.M. and 3:00 A.M.**

**Central Park, New York City**

**2:00 A.M.**

Something was happening, what I didn't know.

I could see a lot of Police, as well as some other people. It was dark, so we had brought our NVGs with us. I had an H&K G36C with me. Dave and I were familiar with the weapon, but Chloe was not able to easily control the larger weapon, so I had arranged training for her on the FN P90, Personal Defence Weapon or PDW. This weapon used the same rounds as her pistol and benefited from a fifty-round magazine. The weapon was lighter and shorter than the G36C. This would be the first use of the weapon by Shadow, in action. One downside was the actual carrying of spare magazines, which were physically larger than the magazines of most other weapons.

..._...

We were both astride the Ducati, parked under some trees.

"You ready?" I asked.

"You really need to ask?" Shadow replied, with a chuckle.

She definitely sounded happier.

I watched the Police and the other men, facing off. There were about twenty Police Officers, all in normal uniforms and armed only with pistols. The men confronting them, were armed with bats, chains and other assorted, lethal instruments. A senior Police Officer was ordering the men to disperse. I put on my NVG goggles and Shadow followed suit.

"Oh, fuck!" Shadow growled.

"'Oh, fuck', is right, Shadow!" I agreed.

It was a trap! D'Amico seemed to like his little traps, I tried not to think about Dave and Marty almost being blown up the other night!

Behind the dozen or so men who were facing off against the Police, were another dozen or so men, all armed with assault rifles. D'Amico was really flexing his muscles and it was New York's turn! I called Marcus.

..._...

"What!" Marcus said, when he answered. He sounded wide awake. Just not very amused.

"You know about Central Park?" I asked, without any preamble.

"Oh, it's you! I do, minor disturbance; I'm on my way there now..." Marcus said, before I cut him off.

"It's a fucking trap! We're there now, I can see over a dozen men hidden in the trees. They're armed with assault rifles!" I explained rapidly.

"Oh my God! I'll contact the senior Officer on site; do what you can!" Marcus said, before he hung up on me.

I watched the men in the trees, carefully, periodically checking on the cops. I saw the senior Police Officer, pause to listen to his radio and then his eyes went wide.

"Fall back!" He shouted. "It's a trap!"

**2:09 A.M.**

The Battle of Central Park began.

The first line of watchdogs burst forward, after the retreating cops. I turned to the men in the trees and noticed that they had started to move forward. Some raised their rifles...

"Shadow, open fire!" I directed, calmly.

I started firing single aimed shots, towards the watchdogs armed with assault rifles. Shadow did the same, dropping them one by one. After four had been dropped, the rest dived for cover, returning fire, but only in our general direction.

"Shadow, we need to keep their attention on us!" I said.

"Ooh, I just love being a target!" Shadow replied, coolly.

Shadow showed herself slightly and flashed the flashlight on her P90, attracting a hail of bullets.

"That was fun!" Shadow commented, sarcastically, still firing on the watchdogs.

Every now and then, we would hear a scream, as a watchdog went down, permanently.

..._...

Some of the Police officers had taken up refuge behind a concrete parapet while some opened fire on the watchdogs with assault rifles; the watchdogs were now caught in a cross-fire between us and the NYPD. Other Officers were engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the first line of watchdogs and having some success, especially when they could disarm one and turn the weapon against its former owner!

I'd bet Dave was enjoying a nice peaceful night, unlike us!

**2:21 A.M.**

Damn! D'Amico had sent reinforcements!

Shadow and I, had to be careful as we had limited ammunition with us. We both kept to short bursts.

Thankfully, the reinforcements were not heavily armed and only numbered about fourteen. Our plan, to keep the guns pointed at us, was working, but it was getting a bit annoying, fast.

Finally the last man, armed with an assault rifle, went down hard with a scream.

**2:29 A.M.**

The final ten or so, watchdogs were now fighting hand-to-hand with us and the Police Officers.

Some of the Police Officers had realised that we were there and they seemed glad of our assistance. At one stage, I was fighting side-by-side with an NYPD sergeant, who shook my hand when we had defeated the pair of watchdogs that we had been fighting. I waded in with the single Katana, which I was carrying, while Shadow used her bō-staff to devastating effect.

Shadow actually received cheers, from the Police Officers, who approved of both her movements and her slaughtering of watchdogs!

**2:38 A.M.**

It was all over and that section of Central park now looked like a zombie movie set.

There were dead bodies everywhere, several with severed limbs. There were also two dead Police Officers and several wounded, some seriously. What concerned me, was that the Watchdogs had appeared to sacrifice themselves! Was that sick cunt trying to run us down?

We received a lot of thanks from the Police Officers. Without us, they might all be dead as it was us that had identified it was a trap before the trap could be sprung.

Shadow and I were both exhausted, but pleased with the results.

* * *

**The following takes place between 3:00 A.M. and 4:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**3:45 A.M.**

We finally stumbled into the Safehouse and collapsed onto the mat, completely exhausted.

And that was that!

* * *

**The following takes place between 7:00 A.M. and 8:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**7:35 A.M.**

I could hear banging, a lot of banging.

I opened my eyes and sat up slowly; my head was pounding.

The banging!

It was the door.

I got up and staggered over to the door, heaving it open.

"Wow, now that is one hot sight for the morning!" Josh admitted. "Gets the blood flowing, I can tell you!"

"Oh, it's you. Come in!"

* * *

I followed Chloe, or rather Shadow, into the Safehouse. Although I couldn't see her face, she looked exhausted by the way she walked.

On the mat was Hit Girl, lying on her back, fast asleep and I couldn't resist checking her out, she looked very hot, too! The suit accentuated all of her gentle curves, especially her hips and...

Get your mind out of the gutter, Josh!

"Have you two just got back from something?"

"Hours ago, yes, we must have just collapsed, when we got back!" Chloe explained, sitting down and pulling off her mask.

"That was you two, in Central Park?" I asked rhetorically, knowing the answer.

"Yeah, it was," Chloe replied. "Now shut up and help me get outta this combat suit."

"Wow! Helping you get undressed, never thought you'd ever ask!" I quipped.

"I can ease those feelings, with a swift kick in the balls, if you wish!" Chloe growled.

"That's okay, thanks!" I replied, helping Chloe pull off her gauntlets and boots.

Hit Girl started to stir and looked up.

"Oh, lover boy's back!"

Mindy appeared, as she pulled off her mask.

"Sleeping in this thing, is _not_ a good idea!" Mindy stated simply.

"Tell me about it!" Chloe groaned.

"Your 'man slave' helping you get undressed? Just don't let him go too far!" Mindy quipped.

"Don't worry Mindy, he goes 'too far', he'll damn well know about it!" Chloe replied, glaring up at me.

* * *

**The following takes place between 8:00 A.M. and 9:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**8:22 A.M.**

Both girls were now out of their combat suits, they had showered and got dressed. Which was a shame, that last bit at least! Damn, where do those thoughts keep coming from?

Mindy and Chloe explained what had happened earlier that morning, over breakfast. It actually sounded quite cool! I had read about some of the attack in the early morning papers and I had seen reports on the news.

"You guys really did well, from what I heard!" I commented.

"Thanks kid," Mindy replied, with a smile.

* * *

**The following takes place between 9:00 A.M. and 10:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**9:03 A.M.**

Josh has gone back to the other Safehouse, leaving us both in peace.

It was actually good of him to come over to check on us, spoke something of his character, he seemed genuinely concerned about us, well mainly Chloe of course! I thought that Chloe actually enjoyed having Josh help her to get undressed... I was gonna have to keep an eye on those two!

It had been a long morning, but fairly successful considering the alternatives.

Now we had work to do and the downfall of D'Amico to plan.

* * *

**The following takes place between 10:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**10:32 A.M.**

I had just put the cell down, after speaking with Dave.

I was really pissed to hear about Murphy and Fellowes; that really was fucking low!

But with D'Amico, anything was fucking possible.

* * *

**The following takes place between 11:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M.**

**D'Amico Penthouse, New York City**

**11:02 A.M.**

Ralph D'Amico had just got up and he had demanded to know what had been happening while he had slept.

"Let's start with Chicago, shall we?" D'Amico said, so calmly, it was actually frightening.

"Ah! Well, the two cops escaped, with the help of Kick-Ass," Rico explained, very carefully and from a suitable distance away.

"Did we lose any men?" D'Amico enquired. "I do hope not."

"One or two, Boss."

D'Amico indicated that Rico, should elaborate.

"Maybe eight, Boss."

"'Maybe eight, Boss'," D'Amico mimicked, causing Rico to go pale.

"We haven't been able to find the two cops, nor their families," Rico muttered, watching D'Amico start to move past simmering and onto boiling point.

"Okay, you idiots have fucked up Chicago," D'Amico said, rubbing his temples and composing himself. "Now, you couldn't have fucked up New York, could you? That plan was _so_ simple, even my nephew could have carried it out!"

Rico didn't dare speak.

"Who did you put in charge of the Central Park operation?"

"Dmitry, Boss," Rico replied, breathing a sigh of relief.

"I want to see him; he can make the report, himself."

"By your command!"

* * *

**The following takes place between 12:00 P.M. and 1:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**12:32 P.M.**

I took a minute or two, to ponder how good old, Uncle Ralph was feeling that morning!

He must be thoroughly pissed by that point in time. He should have received a, not so good, report from Chicago, concerning the failed abductions/murders. Not to mention our intervention that morning, in Central Park!

I thought that right that minute, I would have given almost anything to see D'Amico's face right then; his minions must be shitting themselves!

Those thoughts actually cheered me up a bit.

* * *

**The following takes place between 2:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M.**

**D'Amico Penthouse, New York City**

**2:15 P.M.**

Dmitry has just given his report on the Central Park dèbacle.

They were just cleaning up the mess, right now!

"Rico!"

Oh shit!

"Yes, Boss!"

"Why was I not made aware of the presence of Hit Girl and that other slut, in New York?" D'Amico enquired, calmly.

"This morning was the first time that they made themselves known, Boss."

"So, even split up, Fusion is _still_ capable of fucking up my operations!" D'Amico roared.

"Yes, Boss."

"Now, let's make it clear to everybody, how I feel, right now."

"By your command!"

* * *

**The following takes place between 3:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse A, New York City**

**3:05 P.M.**

I must have fucked up somewhere, they'd followed me; it couldn't be a coincidence!

I was more scared then, than I was when Hit Girl was about to kill me.

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**3:07 P.M.**

The cell rang.

"Josh? Is that you?" I asked, checking the incoming number.

"Yes."

It was almost a whisper and did he sound frightened?

"Mindy, get over here now. I think Josh is in trouble," I called and Mindy ran over. I put the cell on speaker and placed it on the table.

"Joshua, can you hear me," Mindy asked.

"Yes... They're here... D'Amico's men... At the Safehouse... I'm going to die!"

"No you're not Joshua. You think you're gonna die, you're gonna die. Now, say to me: 'I'm not gonna die'," Mindy said.

There was no sound from Josh.

"Joshua say it!" Mindy yelled.

"I am not going to die!" Josh mumbled.

"Say it again," Mindy ordered.

"I am not going to die!" Josh said, sounding a bit more, sure of himself.

While Mindy was doing this, we were both stripping off our clothes and suiting up.

"Now Joshua, are the men still outside?"

A pause.

"Yes, I can see them outside the main door, downstairs," Josh replied, sounding a little calmer.

"Right then. Go into my old bedroom, the one that you use now. Close and bolt the door; it's armoured. Take weapons and your body armour. We'll be there soon and we'll get you out, I promise," Mindy finished.

**3:18 P.M.**

I did exactly as Mindy told me.

I was now hiding in a corner of the bedroom, with the door firmly bolted shut. I had always wondered why the door had such large bolts on it!

* * *

**The following takes place between 4:00 P.M. and 5:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse A, New York City**

**4:15 P.M.**

Almost an hour had passed, since I had last heard from Mindy or Chloe.

Ten minutes previously, I had heard banging on the main apartment door, followed by shouting.

"Hey, you little bastard, we're here to kill ya!"

A couple of minutes ago, the main door had been smashed open. I had started to shake now, very badly.

Where the fuck were those two bitches?

The men had been assaulting the bedroom door, for the past minute or so. They even used a shotgun.

I sat there, cradling a Glock 17 and extra magazines.

**4:21 P.M.**

There was an almighty bang and I heard glass shattering. Some of the men were shouting, I heard gunfire, yells and screams. Damn, I couldn't stop crying, God I'm scared!

There were more screams, yells and thuds. I could smell smoke; something was burning. I looked at the bed where all my gear was packed, ready to go, in my pack.

If only I could get out of here.

**4:31 P.M.**

Smoke was coming around the edges of the door, I was staring to choke.

Suddenly the ceiling above me collapsed and I saw a door was hanging open. I stared up into daylight.

"You coming or what?" Shadow asked.

"No, he looks too comfortable!" Hit Girl said, with a smirk.

I threw up my pack which Hit Girl caught and then passed it to Shadow. I jumped onto the bed and climbed out, through the hole.

**4:38 P.M.**

"The men?" I asked.

"Dead!" Hit Girl replied, looking down into the hole. "So much for Safehouse A!"

"I'm sorry, I really am!" I said.

"Safehouse A did its job; it kept you safe! Now let's go, before the authorities turn up!"

* * *

**The following takes place between 5:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**5:55 P.M.**

We took an insanely long route home, just in case.

Shadow stayed in an alley, not far from the smoking remains of Safehouse A, while I took Josh back to Safehouse C. Then I went back for Shadow, who was getting very bored by the time I had returned for her. The longer route home was to ensure that nobody had followed us.

I was running out of Safehouses!

* * *

**The following takes place between 6:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**6:20 P.M.**

"Chloe, I am getting a little sick and tired of him apologising; sort him out, before I do!" Mindy growled, walking over to the kitchen.

"Josh, it wasn't your fault... Well it may have been; but that doesn't matter. All that matters is that you are alive, okay?" I said.

Josh nodded, slowly.

All he had done since we had got back, was apologise for losing Mindy's Safehouse. He was really shaken up, so most of the reaction was just shock. I helped him to get cleaned up, from all the smoke, but he just sat on the couch, staring into nothing. I ended up sitting next to him and letting him cuddle into me.

Mindy seemed to enjoy this and kept smirking when she walked past, which made me blush! The bitch was doing it on purpose!

I finally persuaded Josh to go for a shower, as he stank of smoke. Going after those D'Amico goons had felt good, especially as we knew that we were there to save Josh's life.

Next catch was getting Mindy to rest. She was restless, probably all the caffeine combined with the adrenalin.

She had been a little nuts, when she had fought the men at the Safehouse!

* * *

**The following takes place between 7:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**7:33 P.M.**

I made the call while Mindy was in the shower.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Dave."

"Chloe! How ya doing, kid?"

"Okay, I guess, just a bit tired," I replied.

"What's wrong, Chloe and don't lie to me?"

"I'm worried about, you know who! She's exhausted, but refuses to admit it, I'm just worried about her!" I admitted.

"Oh, I know exactly what you mean. Admitting she's exhausted, will be admitting failure and Hit Girl does not admit failure, readily! Mindy's like the fucking Energizer Bunny, sometimes, hope you can keep up kid, it's gonna be a wild ride! But seriously, let me know if she tries anything stupid, 'cause she might. Exhaustion has almost killed her before; exert yourself and take charge if necessary, it won't be easy," Dave replied.

"Thanks, Dave!" I said, feeling a little better. "Please don't tell Mindy I called you."

"Our secret," Dave promised.

"Who was that on the phone?" Mindy asked, coming out of the bathroom and drying her hair.

"Abby – nothing special."

* * *

**The following takes place between 8:00 P.M. and 9:00 P.M.**

**D'Amico Penthouse, New York City**

**8:07 P.M.**

"Not quite the expected result, but still a result!" D'Amico commented.

"Nobody survived, Boss and we are certain that the boy died in the fire," I said.

"Good, very good. Make sure the man who provided that information is rewarded," D'Amico ordered.

"By your command!"

* * *

**The following takes place between 9:00 P.M. and 10:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**9:09 P.M.**

"Marcus calm down, everything is fine!" I insisted.

"I found out about the Safehouse and feared the worst," Marcus explained.

"D'Amico went after Joshua. How he found out, I don't know. Doesn't matter; the Safehouse did its job and Joshua is safe," I replied.

"I'm glad, I really am! Stay safe kids," Marcus said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those in Europe, who don't know about the 'Energizer Bunny', it's the same as the 'Duracell Bunny'!
> 
> You are advised to read Feral, Chapter 14: Sleep of The Vigilante - Day 5 next...


	14. Sleep of The Vigilante – Day 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter Operates in parallel with Forsaken, Chapter 62: Sleep of The Vigilante – Day 5, but you should read this chapter first...

**The next day  
Friday**

**The following takes place between Midnight and 1:00 A.M.**

**Battery Park, New York City**

**0:34 A.M.**

The thugs came out of nowhere and started attacking the two Police vehicles.

One of the vehicles was unmarked and the Detective, driving, was chatting with the two, uniformed Police Officers in the marked cruiser.

The windscreens, of both vehicles were smashed almost immediately, but both of the vehicles managed to accelerate away, to safety. The Detective's left arm was hurt, from a baseball bat that came through his side window, while the two uniformed Officers had various cuts and bruises from flying glass.

Once safe, the two vehicles headed towards the nearest hospital, for treatment.

* * *

**The following takes place between 5:00 A.M. and 6:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**5:02 A.M.**

I was just getting dressed after a shower, when my cell rang.

"Is that Mindy?" The caller asked; it sounded like an older man.

"Who is this?" I asked, in return.

"You _are_ Mindy; you sound just like your mother," The man said.

"You... Who are you?" I asked again, confused at the mention of my mother.

"Sorry! My name is Mackenzie, Sergeant Mackenzie, NYPD. I work for Marcus; I used to work with Damon, many years ago... Anyway, I digress. Marcus asked me to call you, if anything happened to him."

"Oh, my God! What...?" I interrupted.

"No, don't worry, it's just his arm; it's broken. He should be back home, from the hospital in a couple of hours," The man explained. "He was jumped by some D'Amico bastards! Him and two other cops; they're okay, too," Mackenzie replied. "You go see Marcus later, I have work to do."

"Thanks!" I said, before the connection was broken.

I just stood there, for a few minutes, not moving. Then I went ballistic.

"You fucking bastard, D'Amico!" I yelled and started punching the wall, leaving more than one rather large hole!

**5:15 A.M.**

Chloe came running through to my bedroom.

"What is it?" Chloe asked, looking horrified.

"Marcus has been injured, by D'Amico's bastards!" I replied, seething with rage.

"Oh God! Is he okay?"

"Just a broken arm. But enough is enough; I'm going after that bastard, right the fuck now!" I screamed and shoved Chloe, roughly, out of the way.

I stormed through to the mat and started to get my gear together.

**5:21 A.M.**

Suddenly, I felt two hands on my shoulders and I was spun around and pushed against a post.

Chloe was directly in front of me. One hand on my chest, pushing me back against the post. She looked pissed.

"What, do you want?" I demanded, angrily.

"I want you to stop being stupid!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You're not thinking; you're running off in the heat of the moment!" Chloe said. "Just like before..."

"Before?" I asked, angrily.

"Yeah, the night your Dad died: you left that other Safehouse, without proper planning and fucked everything up!" Chloe explained, bravely.

I was raging now. Who the fuck did she think she was?

"Look, I promised Dave that I would look after you and that's what I'm gonna do!" Chloe yelled. "You don't like that, then you're gonna have to put me the fuck down!"

I was taken aback; Chloe was standing up to me! I was mad, but was I mad enough to want to hurt Chloe?

"Get out of my way, you stupid girl!" I ordered. "You don't know what you're doing!"

" _I_ don't know what I'm doing, huh? Well, from my side, it looks like _you_ do not know what you are fucking doing! You, the super experienced Hit Girl, what a fucking laugh!" Chloe said, derisively.

Then without knowing what I was doing, I slapped her, hard, across the face, sending Chloe flying backwards. She landed on her backside, in the middle of the mat. She stared up at me in shock, but she was seething with rage, just like me. I could not remember every having seen Chloe like this before!

"I don't fucking care what you do to me, Mindy! You are going fucking nowhere! You've fucked up, big time. Remember our partnership? We tell each other if somebody fucks up; now guess what, it's your turn to fuck up, Hit Girl!" Chloe growled, menacingly and got back to her feet.

I could see tears in her eyes, but she was still raging and had a large hand mark on her left cheek. I started to feel very ashamed, with myself.

"If you can't hack it, Mindy, then I'm gonna take charge!" Chloe yelled, then after a pause. "Well, fucking say something!"

**5:25 A.M.**

I could not say anything, I reached out towards Chloe, to try and apologise.

"Don't fucking touch me, or I'll break your fucking wrists!" Chloe spat.

I was shocked.

"Chloe, please, I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have hit you! I... I lost control for a minute. Marcus getting hurt, it really scared me," I explained.

I took another step, towards Chloe, but she backed off, away from me. I felt tears, now. I was appalled with myself. What had I done?

"Please, Chloe!" I begged.

"Just... Leave me alone..." Chloe said, turning away and she went into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

I was left standing on the mat, alone, feeling really, fucking stupid.

* * *

**The following takes place between 6:00 A.M. and 7:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**6:30 A.M.**

I was sitting on the mat, still feeling sorry for myself after that bollocking which I had received from Chloe and the fact that I had hit her!

Chloe came out from her bedroom; her eyes were red, and so was her cheek, where I had hit her, a bruise was appearing, too!

"You sorted yourself out yet!" Chloe asked; not in a very unfriendly way, but still with fire in her eyes.

"Yes," I replied, meekly.

"You gonna hit me again?"

"No," I said. "I'm sorry... I..."

"You ready to be back in charge, Hit Girl, or are you just gonna fucking sit there, feeling sorry for yourself, like a fucking pussy!"

I was shocked, again! Nevertheless, I deserved it; I was reacting really badly to things, just now. I was really tired and not thinking straight.

"Thank you, Chloe! You're right, absolutely right," I said. "Will you come and sit with me, please?"

"Only if you promise not to hit me, again!" Chloe said, with a slight smile.

"I promise," I replied.

"Is that a, 'money back', guarantee?" Chloe asked laughing, as she sat down and gave me a hug.

"Definitely!" I said, as I returned the hug.

* * *

**The following takes place between 7:00 A.M. and 8:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**7:10 A.M.**

We sat down to breakfast, I was still feeling more than a little embarrassed about the whole episode!

"I think I know what Dave meant, about Hit Girl needing a balance to keep her in check," Chloe said, smirking. "Dave's not here, so I'll have to do it!"

"Thank you Chloe, for caring and for being a friend!" I replied, going back to my cereal, to hide my embarrassment.

However, I thought that Chloe was enjoying herself.

"I suppose it's a hazard of working with Hit Girl!" Chloe said, rubbing her cheek and grimacing.

"I really am sorry!" I whined.

"Mindy, do you remember that saying of yours: 'Talk like a bitch...'"

"'... Get slapped like a bitch'! Yeah, I know; I hate it when people turn my own words against me!" I groaned and Chloe laughed.

"Plus, I owe you one, remember that..." Chloe growled, ominously!

**7:18 A.M.**

Josh awoke and looked up from the couch.

How the hell, the kid managed to sleep through all the noise, which we had both made earlier, I really did not know!

Josh turned and looked at Chloe.

"Who the fuck hit you?" He asked, angrily.

I blushed and turned away. Chloe must have looked at me.

"I slapped Chloe?" Josh exclaimed. "What the fuck for?"

"It was an accident," I offered lamely.

"It was a misunderstanding, Josh. Just drop it, okay," Chloe said, pointedly.

"Right!" Josh said, unconvinced and still looking unhappy.

Chloe explained about what had happened the previous night, with Marcus and the call this morning.

* * *

**The following takes place between 8:00 A.M. and 9:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse A, New York City**

**8:25 A.M.**

We got ourselves dressed and I gave Joshua some work to do, while we were gone.

If he was there then he could start learning!

* * *

**The following takes place between 9:00 A.M. and 10:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse A, New York City**

**9:15 A.M.**

The girls had only just left.

I was glad that I was not on my own now; but I could look after myself, sort of!

Mindy was ensuring that I was training correctly and learning to use the weapons that she had provided. I was currently learning to use the Heckler & Koch G36C, as well as the MP7. Mindy said that if I did not learn to use them properly, then I would not be involved with taking down Ralph D'Amico. As such, I was working hard; learning to strip them, clean them and operate them proficiently.

Mindy was a bloody hard taskmaster!

* * *

**The following takes place between 10:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M.**

**Marcus' House, New York City**

**10:05 A.M.**

Marcus was in a grumpy mood and not just because of his arm!

"I shouldn't have let somebody creep up on me like that!" Marcus ranted. "It was stupid!"

"Hey, sh... stuff happens!" I replied. "You're alive and that's what matters."

"Thanks, Mindy!" Marcus replied, calming down slightly.

"I'm glad you're okay Mr Williams," Chloe said with a smile.

"Chloe, call me Marcus: 'Mr Williams' just makes me feel old. Besides, you're almost family! I already have one nut job, for a daughter, why not another!" Marcus said, laughing.

"So I'm a 'nut job' am I?" I replied, indignantly.

"Well, it is kinda accurate!" Chloe admitted, with a chuckle.

"Thanks for your support... Partner!"

* * *

**The following takes place between 11:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M.**

**Marcus' House, New York City**

**11:45 A.M.**

We spent quite a while with Marcus, which was good, as he enjoyed our company and we enjoyed his.

I felt that Chloe and I needed some time to gather our thoughts and get some fresh air and exercise, so I suggested that Chloe call the brat and get him to meet us in Central Park.

* * *

**The following takes place between 12:00 P.M. and 1:00 P.M.**

**Central Park, New York City**

**12:25 P.M.**

We parked up the BMW and started to walk around the park.

**12:30 P.M.**

Chloe received a text, from the brat, asking where we were, so Chloe gave him our exact location.

Within a couple of minutes a breathless Joshua, caught up.

* * *

**The following takes place between 1:00 P.M. and 2:00 P.M.**

**Central Park, New York City**

**1:15 P.M.**

We enjoyed a good run around and the fresh air helped Josh get the last of the smoke out of his lungs. It was also good to let off some steam, while I thought about our next action. Not to mention the decent hot-dogs, that we had for lunch!

I decided that we could not wait for D'Amico to do something even worse, than what he had already done so far.

I know that acting in daylight, was not a very good idea; nevertheless, I needed intelligence on D'Amico and soon!

* * *

**The following takes place between 2:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**2:25 P.M.**

We spent the next hour, keeping an eye on who, and what, was going in and out of the D'Amico building.

One or two of the men were familiar from the video, which Chloe had taken covertly, previously. I was hoping that we would be able to seize one of them, when he came off shift.

We had managed to obtain information concerning shifts, within the D'Amico Penthouse, from the phone that Chloe 'stole'.

We knew that at least one guy finished at eight in the evening. Therefore, I intended to be ready.

* * *

**The following takes place between 3:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**3:45 P.M.**

The rest of the afternoon was spent training and preparing our equipment.

Josh was getting very proficient with the weapons, which I was pleased to see. He was quite intelligent and grasped things very quickly. He was not a bad kid; just way out of his depth! He was actually the first British person that I had ever met and I found his accent, cute I supposed. It grated a bit that he pronounced things wrongly, but then, to him I probably pronounced things wrong, too! I was also pleasantly surprised to find that he reacted to criticism very well, and did not get mad, when I shouted at him for making a mistake.

In fact, so far, I had not been able to get him properly riled up, to see what he was _really_ like, when he was really pissed! I asked Chloe about it and she said that she had only ever seen him 'really mad' on one previous occasion and he had been a 'maniac', Chloe's word, not mine!

* * *

**The following takes place between 4:00 P.M. and 5:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**4:15 P.M.**

Chloe and I went for a short nap, to build up some sleep, before the night, as I was not expecting to get much sleep otherwise!

* * *

**The following takes place between 5:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**5:25 P.M.**

Josh prepared some very nice, but not very tasty – not his fault, microwave meals.

They gave us energy, if absolutely nothing else.

I was really missing Dave's cooking by that point!

* * *

**The following takes place between 6:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**6:45 P.M.**

We gathered our equipment together and started gearing up.

Josh and Chloe had been spending a lot of time talking, which had also included a lot of giggling from Chloe!

I just left them to it.

* * *

**The following takes place between 7:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**7:45 P.M.**

We left the Safehouse.

I had suggested, strongly, that Josh go and stay with Marcus for the night. I had told him that he could come back over, he following morning.

Joshua had reluctantly agreed.

* * *

**The following takes place between 8:00 P.M. and 9:00 P.M.**

**D'Amico Penthouse, New York City**

**8:15 P.M.**

Hit Girl and I were on the Ducati, parked up in an alley just across from the D'Amico Penthouse building.

It was barely dark, but dark enough.

A man walked out of the building, waving to the doorman.

"See ya, tomorrow, Chuck!"

The man went around the corner and towards his car. He got in, and fumbled with his keys. He could not have been expecting trouble, 'cause he never expected to find my gauntlet, smashing through his side window and grabbing his throat!

* * *

**The following takes place between 9:00 P.M. and 10:00 P.M.**

**Another Safehouse, New York City**

**9:05 P.M.**

Hit Girl dragged the unconscious cunt, into the office and dumped him in a corner. She then checked his bindings, blindfold and gag, before turning off the light.

**9:52 P.M.**

We drove the guy's car, back to the covered Ducati and headed on, to Safehouse C.

* * *

**The following takes place between 10:00 P.M. and 11:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**10:45 P.M.**

"So, what _was_ that place?" I asked, pulling off my mask and comms.

"My Daddy acquired several Safehouses, over the years. You have seen A and C, so far. B... Let's not talk about B! That one, where we dumped the cunt, was never configured, so it doesn't have a name. D through to F, are already allocated, just don't ask about them, so let's call it Safehouse G," Mindy replied, pulling off her mask and comms. "We'll let the cunt stew for an hour or two, and then I will interrogate him."

"Mind if I shower first?" I asked.

"Go on!"

* * *

**The following takes place between 11:00 P.M. and Midnight**

**D'Amico Penthouse, New York City**

**11:01 P.M.**

"So you fucked everything up!" D'Amico bellowed into the video conferencing microphone.

"There was nothing I could do; your plan was doomed to failure!" Bartolemeo replied.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing," D'Amico replied, darkly, then nodded to the man at the other end of the connection, who could be seen to be standing behind Bartolemeo.

The man reached around and slit Bartolemeo's throat.

"Apology accepted!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are advised to read Forsaken, Chapter 62: Sleep of The Vigilante – Day 5 next...


	15. Sleep of The Vigilante – Day 6 - Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is in parallel with Forsaken, Chapter 63: Sleep of The Vigilante – Day 6, but you should read this chapter first...

**The next day, Saturday**

**The following takes place between Midnight and 1:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse G, New York City**

**0:01 A.M.**

We both arrived back at Safehouse G.

We had managed a shower, some food and a catnap, before heading back out. It was about as human, as we could get. However, we both still felt shitty, not to mention that was aware of my thought processes slowing down.

"You may want to stay outside, kid, this will get ugly," Hit Girl advised. "I have an interrogation to perform!"

**0:10 A.M.**

I yanked off his blindfold; which happened to be Duct Tape, so I hoped that he was not _too_ attached to his eyebrows, as he was not anymore!

"Fuck!" The man yelled.

"Name!" I snarled.

"Eat shit, bitch!"

Original!

"Name!"

Silence.

I kicked him hard, in the right side and he screamed, loudly.

"Nobody... Can hear you scream!" I growled into his ear and could sense the fear in him. "Now... This works... In one of two ways... Personally... I prefer the second... As I can use my knives!"

The man braced and he looked down at the throwing knives attached to my thighs; I thought that the fear was building inside him, nicely.

"We'll let you think about it, for a few minutes," I growled, walking out and slamming the office door.

**0:18 A.M.**

"My turn!" Shadow growled at the man.

I thought that I would let Shadow have a go. I wanted to see what she was _really_ made of, not to mention when the girl would get squeamish.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Your worst fucking nightmare, cunt. Now, I don't like your employer... He has hurt people, people very dear to me... That gives me reasons to want to hurt you... Name!" Shadow growled, menacingly.

"Mickey fucking Mouse!"

Blood flew across the mat, making me thankful that we had put some plastic sheeting down. The man screamed through his, now badly bruised, mouth and split lips.

Way to go, Shadow!

"Rick..."

"Rick who?" Shadow snarled, getting impatient.

"Go fuck your partner – I'd love to watch!"

Shadow flipped her Balisong open and cut the ties, which secured the man's hands. Then she placed a foot on his left wrist. There was a gunshot and a hole appeared in the man's left hand.

The man screamed and Shadow holstered her pistol.

"Next, I'll blow your fucking cock off!" Shadow growled.

Fuck me!

I did not think that even _I_ would have gone that far, that early!

I can do this all day, can you?" Shadow growled, again.

I had to laugh; who would stop bleeding first, him or me! Ugh, gross! Where, the hell did that thought come from?

"Pass out and I fucking kill ya, cunt!" Shadow snarled, menacingly.

Jeez, Shadow!

"Trioni... My fucking name is... Rick Trioni...!" The man yelled, grasping his hand, in agony.

**0:28 P.M.**

"I need a drink... We'll be back!" Shadow snarled and rushed out of the room, tugging at her mask.

I ran after Shadow and found her throwing up, in the bathroom. Her mask was on the floor, beside her.

I waited until she had finished.

"You okay; you scared the shit outta me, in there!" I admitted.

"I scared the fucking shit outta myself, in there!" Shadow replied, from the floor, looking up at me and grinning. "I don't know what came over me; I'm not thinking straight."

"You're exhausted and so am I. We'll rest for a while and then get back to the interrogation," I said, very pleased with my protégé.

* * *

**The following takes place between 1:00 A.M. and 2:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse G, New York City**

**1:45 A.M.**

Thankfully Mindy had thought to bring some coffee, milk and energy bars.

I must admit; I felt a little better, after fifty minutes sleep. However, I knew that would not last long. I really could not believe that I shot that bastard! I followed Hit Girl through to the office and found that the man had passed out.

Hit Girl kicked him, hard and he screamed.

"Okay... Rick Trioni... Where were we?" I snarled.

The man looked up at me and glared. I smirked back.

"I want to know about the place, where you work..."

* * *

**The following takes place between 2:00 A.M. and 3:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse G, New York City**

**2:42 A.M.**

We had accumulated quite a lot of useful information, from our new pal, Trioni.

Hit Girl had taken the man outside. She was gone for about twenty minutes, before she returned... Without him.

"What happened?" I asked, innocently.

"I let him go!" Hit Girl growled, picking up her helmet and climbing onto the Ducati.

I knew that the man was dead. Hit Girl would never let a man like that live.

"Okay," I replied, grabbed my helmet.

I realised that I felt nothing for the man.

* * *

**The following takes place between 3:00 A.M. and 5:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**3:22 A.M.**

We made it back to the Safehouse and locked up the Ducati.

As soon as we entered the Safehouse, we stripped off our combat suits and showered. I went first and while Mindy was in the shower, I put together a meal from the freezer, nothing special. It actually felt good to be out of that damn suit, it was also nice just to be wearing a towel and nothing else!

Mindy came out of her shower and she stayed in just her towel, too. We sat and ate the microwaved crap, but at least it was food and our bodies were screaming out for food and energy.

* * *

**The following takes place between 5:00 A.M. and 6:00 A.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**5:03 A.M.**

There was a knock on the Safehouse door.

Mindy picked up her pistol and went to open the door. I grabbed my own pistol and waited in the kitchen. Somehow, I felt a bit silly doing this in just a towel!

It was Josh, who admittedly, was a little surprised at finding Mindy, in just a towel and pointing a pistol at him. He actually smirked when he saw me, doing the same thing.

As he opened his mouth to speak, Mindy interrupted him.

"One wisecrack about us both being naked and I will fucking snap you in half!" Mindy growled, dangerously and I felt myself blushing.

"I wasn't gonna say a thing, but it _was_ tempting!" Josh said, smiling at my discomfort and readjusting his jeans.

Maybe it was time to put some underwear on, the towel was _not_ large and I could see Josh's eyes moving over my legs!

"What do you want, Josh?" Mindy asked, making sure her own towel was secure, which made me laugh and Mindy to scowl in response.

"Just came by to see what was going on, was all," Josh replied, unconvincingly.

Mindy kept staring at Josh.

"Okay, I was bored and missed Chloe, all right!" Josh blurted out and I could tell by how he blushed, that he was telling the truth, which just made me blush, too.

"You always look really cute, when you blush," Josh said, making me blush even worse! Mindy actually laughed, which was _not_ helping.

"I'm gonna go get dressed," I mumbled and ran off, towards the bedrooms.

**5:38 A.M.**

By the time, I returned to the kitchen Mindy was also dressed and Josh was finishing off a microwave meal, of sorts. If I remembered rightly, the boy was always hungry!

"Right we have work to do!" Mindy said, checking her pistol.

"You can stay here and do some cleaning; we'll be back in an hour or so. Don't leave the Safehouse, or do anything stupid!" I said, checking my own pistol.

"Not a problem!" Josh replied, finishing the last of the food and smiling.

* * *

Once the girls were gone, I looked around at the dust that still needed cleaning.

How low had I sunk! I had to admit though, Chloe looked really hot, when she was messing around with guns, I liked it!

Now I came to think about it, it was a shame that the towels had not slipped; that would have been good...

* * *

**The following takes place between 6:00 A.M. and 7:00 A.M.**

**D'Amico Warehouse, New York City**

**6:32 A.M.**

The ride over had been fun, as it always was, on the BMW.

Chloe was moaning about Josh, but I could tell that she really had it bad for him and she just _had_ to talk about him, non-stop. This was starting to grate a bit, but I did not want to upset her by telling her to shut up!

We approached the block where the D'Amico Warehouse was sited and parked up, among some trucks.

* * *

**The following takes place between 7:00 A.M. and 8:00 A.M.**

**D'Amico Warehouse, New York City**

**7:05 A.M.**

Okay, reconnaissance over.

We headed back to the Safehouse and geared up. I told Josh, that he was going to be coming too; it was time the hid earned his keep!

* * *

**The following takes place between 8:00 A.M. and 9:00 A.M.**

**D'Amico Warehouse, New York City**

**8:25 A.M.**

We were outside the warehouse, ready to move in.

I had dropped off Josh, or rather Feral, earlier and he had hidden in an alley until we were ready.

I made a quick check of the perimeter and found that only two watchdogs were patrolling. They would not be a problem!

**8:45 A.M.**

The two watchdogs were dead and our way was clear.

* * *

**The following takes place between 9:00 A.M. and 10:00 A.M.**

**D'Amico Warehouse, New York City**

**9:05 A.M.**

"The Boss will be coming down later today. There have been some problems and he wishes to personally address those problems, before anything gets out of hand!" Rico lectured the men who stood before him.

Rico was standing in the main, open area of the warehouse while twenty watchdogs, were arrayed around him.

"Now, I enjoy a long healthy life, working for the Boss, mainly because I do not let him down," Rico continued. "I..."

**9:18 A.M.**

"God, he drones on!" Shadow groaned.

"Well, his long life is about to come up short!" I said, smiling. "Take him!"

Shadow raised her suppressed P90, pressed a button and a small red dot appeared on the side of Rico's head. Shadow slowly squeezed the trigger and Rico dropped to the floor, without a sound. The sound of his droning had covered the sound of the suppressed shot.

The twenty watchdogs ran like frightened cockroaches, grabbing up an assortment of weapons. None of them had any idea where the shot had come from. We ran along the raised walkway and started picking off watchdogs, one by one. Feral and I were both armed with suppressed H&K MP7A2 PDWs. We all fired short bursts down towards the main floor, the white paint of which was rapidly turning red.

**9:32 A.M.**

Several bullets came into contact our armour, but they were all of nine-millimetre calibre and so made no impression.

The final pair of watchdogs fell to Shadow and her P90.

"That was... Interesting..." Feral commented, catching his breath.

* * *

**The following takes place between 10:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M.**

**D'Amico Warehouse, New York City**

**10:08 A.M.**

We searched as much as possible, but we did not find anything useful.

I had a distinct feeling that killing D'Amico's right hand man might cause some waves! There were no more watchdogs left, so we left the warehouse, quickly.

I wanted to get back to the Safehouse and rest, before attacking the penthouse that night.

* * *

**The following takes place between 11:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M.**

**D'Amico Penthouse, New York City**

**11:11 A.M.**

"Where is Rico?" D'Amico asked.

"He never returned from the warehouse, this morning, Boss," Jerome replied.

"So nobody thought to check on him?" D'Amico was now getting angry!

"I will check, right now, Boss!" Jerome said, starting to panic.

"Do that!"

"By your command!"

* * *

**The following takes place between 12:00 P.M. and 1:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City...**

**12:11 P.M.**

"You think they've found Rico yet?" Josh asked.

"Probably," I replied.

"So, how did you enjoy your first, proper, attack?" Chloe asked.

"Considering I didn't get the crap kicked outta me... Yes, it was good!" Josh replied.

"Were you that bad?" Chloe asked with a laugh.

"Kinda!"

Lunch turned into a bit of fun, winding up Josh! However, I did not think he seemed to mind. I would admit, he had done really well on his first time out with us, but I still had reservations. Why was I having reservations about him? I did not know, maybe I would have to speak with Dave and try to work things out; maybe it was just me!

* * *

**The following takes place between 1:00 P.M. and 2:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**1:30 P.M.**

"You are a cruel bitch! Anyone ever tell you that?"

"Yeah, Josh, all the time!" I replied, grinning.

"I do, regularly and so do most people who know her!" Chloe added.

"If I'm a bitch, what does that make you?"

"A better bitch!" Chloe replied, smugly.

I was making Josh train hard. I made him show me his Taekwondo and he was actually very good. If he could just apply his skills correctly, then he would not get his 'arse' kicked so much!

* * *

**The following takes place between 2:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M.**

**Safehouse C, New York City**

**2:50 P.M.**

I think Josh is actually enjoying being pushed around by two teenaged girls!

Maybe he gets off on being abused by girls, you never knew!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are advised to read Feral, Chapter 16: Sleep of The Vigilante – Day 6 Part II next...


	16. Sleep of The Vigilante – Day 6 - Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter continues from Feral, Chapter 15: Sleep of The Vigilante – Day 6 Part I...

**_Saturday_ **

**_The following takes place between 3:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M._ **

**_D'Amico Penthouse, New York City_ **

**_3:31 P.M._ **

"You have to tell him Rico is dead!"

"I'm not gonna tell him, he'll shoot me!"

"Well someone has to tell him!"

"Not me!"

"If nobody tells him then he'll just kill us all! He will _not_ shoot you; He needs you!"

**_3:34 P.M._ **

The gunshot echoed around the penthouse.

"So he didn't need you, my bad!"

* * *

**_The following takes place between 4:00 P.M. and 5:00 P.M._ **

**_Safehouse C, New York City_ **

**_4:19 P.M._ **

"You sure we can do this, Mindy? We are both fucking exhausted. We haven't had a good night's sleep in a fucking week!" Chloe groaned.

"We have to do it; we have him and we may not get this chance again!" I replied.

"Just stop for a minute; are we thinking straight? You and I are knackered. Joshua here is not in our class... Sorry Josh!"

"No offence taken," Josh said.

"Okay, I know this will be a risk, a big fucking risk, but it's gotta be done. Please, Chloe I need you and Josh," I said.

"I'm with you Mindy," Josh said.

"If apprentice vigilante is in, then so am I," Chloe replied.

* * *

**_The following takes place between 5:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M._ **

**_Safehouse C, New York City_ **

We all went to get some rest; Chloe was right, we were very short on sleep.

* * *

**_The following takes place between 7:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M._ **

**_Safehouse C, New York City_ **

**_7:10 P.M._ **

We all got up, showered and ate a good meal.

This was it; this was our one chance to destroy Ralph D'Amico, once, and for all.

* * *

**_The following takes place between 8:00 P.M. and 9:00 P.M._ **

**_Safehouse C, New York City_ **

**_8:08 P.M._ **

I double-checked Josh's equipment.

The kid was shaping up and had followed all my instructions, to the letter.

Chloe though had been a bit distracted; I had been trying not to let those two be alone together. Chloe kept giggling when Josh whispered things to her! Ugh! Young love!

"You two ready, or do you both need a few minutes in bed together!"

"I can't believe you'd actually say that!" Chloe said, angrily.

"Keep your mind on the job and by job, Josh, I don't mean Chloe!"

* * *

**_The following takes place between 9:00 P.M. and 10:00 P.M._ **

**_D'Amico Penthouse, New York City_ **

**_9:18 P.M._ **

We lugged our gear up to the roof of the previously selected commercial building, across from the D'Amico Penthouse.

The security guards were safe in their office, taped up, but safe! All the night's recordings had mysteriously vanished.

"I'm not so sure I can do this!" Shadow groaned, looking down and across the gap between the two buildings.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" I snarled.

"Sorry!" Shadow replied, meekly.

**_9:42 P.M._ **

We had all of the equipment set up, checked and ready.

The distance was a little over thirty metres, with a ten-metre drop. Hit Girl had double-checked the faked ropes and the Plumett NS50 silent grapnel launcher.

**_9:55 P.M._ **

Hit Girl raised, aimed and fired the launcher.

The grapnel flew up and across the roof of the D'Amico building. It landed and the splines dug deep into the roof. Hit Girl tugged on the line, before securing it to the anchor points, fitted to the building lift shaft and hauling the line taught. She fitted three zip line trolleys and double-checked our harnesses, before clipping us onto the trolleys, with a primary and secondary strop.

"Remember, one at a time!" Hit Girl cautioned and then looked directly at Josh and me. "And no fucking screaming!"

**_9:59 P.M._ **

As the last one, I pushed off and dropped towards the D'Amico Penthouse.

* * *

**_The following takes place between 10:00 P.M. and 11:00 P.M._ **

**_D'Amico Penthouse, New York City_ **

**_10:01 P.M._ **

I touched down on the rooftop.

Hit Girl grabbed me and passed me to Feral, who smiled as he grasped my waist.

"Not now, you two!" Hit Girl growled. "Jeez!"

"That was awesome!" I said, before enquiring. "Is sex anything like that?"

"That was nothing like sex, girl!" Hit Girl replied, smiling. "Sex is, oh so much better!"

We all slid down, from the roof and behind the parapet, to remove our harnesses.

So far so good!

"I have a bad feeling about this!" Feral moaned. "Shadow was right, you're being foolish!"

"If you're saying that coming here was a bad idea, I'm starting to agree with you!" Shadow replied.

"Who's the more foolish; the fool, or the fool who follows him?" Hit Girl growled. "Now shut the fuck up!"

**_10:11 P.M._ **

I peered over the parapet, into _that_ study.

The study where I had had the shit literally kicked outta me and I had almost died. It was empty right at that moment, but the lights were on. I signalled Shadow, who moved along and under the windows of the kitchen. Shadow had a breaching charge that would destroy the glazing and create a distraction. I placed another, identical charge, on the study window.

I smiled, at the thought of Kick-Ass, first with a jetpack and Gatling guns and then with a bazooka.

Then I grimaced, at the thought of what had required Dave to make use of the Gatling guns and the bazooka!

**_10:15 P.M._ **

Once Shadow returned, we climbed up to the second floor of the penthouse. The window beside us had an empty room inside. Surprisingly there was no alarm or security measure on this window, but then we were well over a dozen storeys up!

**_10:22 P.M._ **

The two charges exploded!

Simultaneously, I smashed the window and we all entered the Penthouse. There was a lot of shouting, mostly from downstairs and I could hear movement outside the door to the room. I did not think that anybody had heard us smash the window, over the noise of the explosives.

Shadow slowly pulled open the door, while I looked out and checked the corridor. It looked clear and was very similar to that directly below us. Again, flashbacks, a mixture of good and bad ones! I moved out, MP7 up and ready, I went to the left, while Shadow kept the corridor to the right, covered. Feral remained between us, keeping an eye on the door opposite. There were three bedrooms up here. One, we had entered through and another opposite, with the main suite over towards the left, the elevator was to the right.

**_10:35 P.M._ **

The floor was clear; everybody was downstairs.

So far, nobody knew we were up here, but that would not last long. We made a final check of our gear and headed towards the elevator.

We did not want to call the elevator, as that would have let everybody on the floor below know that we were there. I forced open the doors to the elevator and we all dropped downwards, onto the elevator car, which was in position at the floor below. I pulled open the inspection hatch that was located in the roof of the elevator car. The elevator was empty and the doors were closed, so I dropped down, followed by Shadow and Feral.

We took a moment to compose ourselves and catch our breath.

"Stand to!" I growled, grabbing two grenades.

**_10:46 P.M._ **

Shadow stabbed the 'door-open' button and I pulled both pins and rolled the grenades through, as the doors opened. Shadow then stabbed the 'door-close' button repeatedly. While the doors had been open, I had seen over a dozen watchdogs, plus the bonus prize: Ralph D'Amico himself. Unfortunately, for us, he was down the corridor, but at least he was there!

A second later there were shouts and screams, followed a couple of seconds later by two large explosions and the elevator shook worryingly.

Shadow stabbed the 'door-open' button again and...

Wow!

"Hey! Stir-fry!" Shadow said when she saw the results.

I looked at Feral.

"We really need to talk to this girl, later on!" I commented. Feral just nodded, with a smirk and shrugged.

I grabbed a convenient, severed lower leg and wedged it into the lift doors, to keep them from closing.

Shadow shook her head at that!

"What?" I exclaimed.

**_10:48 P.M._ **

We advanced from the elevator, weapons up.

A head appeared from a doorway, on the left and Shadow blew it apart. I started getting nasty flashbacks of the corridor, that now lay ahead of me, this time though I was not going to run out of ammunition, but neither would Kick-Ass fly in with a jet-pack and Gatling guns!

There was a lot of shouting, some of it very concerned. Over the shouting was another, louder, more commanding voice! I had never heard his voice before, but it was similar to the voice of Frank D'Amico and it got my blood boiling!

* * *

**_The following takes place between 11:00 P.M. and Midnight_ **

**_11:01 P.M._ **

The three of us were engaged in a fierce gun battle.

We were still beside the elevator, using bodies and furniture as cover. The watchdogs were getting bold, or D'Amico was giving them no choice! Pairs of watchdogs would appear and work their way down the corridor, towards us, before we dropped them.

"Hey, I got one!" Feral called, dropping a watchdog, with a combat knife.

"Great, kid. Don't get cocky!" I replied.

Why the fuck were we all quoting Star Wars, that evening!

**_11:10 P.M._ **

We were finally able to move forward, as the watchdogs thinned out.

Another watchdog appeared from the right and Feral pounced on him, smashing him across the face with the butt of his MP7.

"He certainly has courage!" I commented.

"...Yeah, but what good is that, if he gets himself killed?" Shadow replied, with some concern in her voice.

We got to the first doorway, on the right. I dived in and found that the room was empty of targets. I covered the door opposite while Shadow kicked the door open and gunfire erupted almost instantly, from the room.

"Fire in the hole!" I shouted and pulled the pin from a grenade, throwing it across the passageway, before diving away from the doorway with Shadow and holding her tight. Joshua dived on to the floor. The grenade exploded two seconds later, after an attempted scramble by the watchdogs to escape.

Feral jumped up and crossed the corridor, into the room.

Bits of watchdog were everywhere, but two more watchdogs appeared from behind a heavy desk, to the right and they each received a pair of nine-millimetre bullets to the chest. Feral lowered his pistol and we moved back through the same doorway, stepping over the bodies.

**_11:16 P.M._ **

Two more rooms to clear, then the main area at the end, with _that_ kitchen.

We all advanced slowly up the corridor with Shadow to my left and behind, and then Feral behind her. I knew the room to the left was D'Amico's study. The room to the right, used to be Frank D'Amico's training room and we would clear that room first.

Feral kept an eye on the door to the left and the area at the end, while I kicked open the doors to the room on the right and Shadow dove in to find an empty room.

Last room!

D'Amico was in there; the end was close, very close, I could feel it.

**_11:20 P.M._ **

We all aimed our weapons and Shadow kicked open the door...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are advised to read Feral, Chapter 17: Sleep of The Vigilante – Day 6 Part 3 next...


	17. Sleep of The Vigilante – Day 6 - Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter continues from Feral, Chapter 16: Sleep of The Vigilante – Day 6 Part 2...

**_11:21 P.M._ **

Then it all went wrong!

Talk about Deja-vu, same room, same shit!

The moment I entered the room, I felt the MP7 ripped out of my hand; the strap was cut and the weapon was thrown across the room. Shadow was shot four times in the chest and she collapsed to the floor, in the corridor.

A fist then hit my left arm, as I brought it up to fend off the blow that had been aimed at my head. D'Amico was right there, only a foot away from me. I kicked out and sent him flying backwards, but the bastard seemed to have skills like his brother and he caught himself! I nodded to Feral, who tried to bring his MP7 up, but not before, _he_ was shot in the chest, by the other man in the room.

The other man was large and obviously a bodyguard. The bullet that had hit Feral, square in the chest, had pushed him back against the wall, but it had given him time to raise his weapon and send a three-round burst into the bodyguard's chest.

..._...

I grabbed for a pistol; D'Amico was incensed.

"You have ruined my plans for the last time, Hit Girl!" He yelled, throwing me to one side and raising a pistol of his own.

I landed against the desk, which sent pain shooting through my right thigh and I dropped the pistol, instead I flipped a throwing knife in his direction, which dug deep into D'Amico's left shoulder.

D'Amico yelled obscenities and ran out of the study, towards the kitchen. The bastard was strapping on a small 'reserve' parachute! He was going to escape by base-jumping; that was clever, I had not thought of that as an option for escape. Devious bastard!

I had to stop him.

I ran out of the door, followed by Feral. Shadow had scrambled up off the floor; the bullets had just stunned her. Shadow caught up with D'Amico and pulled her pistol on him, but not before D'Amico had smacked Shadow hard, across the face and she fell to the floor, dropped her pistol and did not move. D'Amico then span around, kicking me hard, in my left side.

I screamed, as I fell off to one side, crashing into the kitchen counter. I tried to get up, but slipped on a watchdog's blood. I kicked out and caught D'Amico's left leg, making him stagger, but he kept his footing and moved towards the shattered window. He turned and fired two rounds from his Glock, both of which hit me in the back, knocking me down to the floor; the pain was excruciating.

D'Amico flung the, now empty, pistol to the floor and then took two steps and grabbed up Shadow's FN Five-seveN, before starting towards the window again and then he stopped and laughed.

**_11:22 P.M._ **

Ralph D'Amico turned and fired several shots, towards the prone form of Shadow, with Shadow's own pistol.

I saw a blur, from one side and then saw Feral as he dived in front of Shadow, knowing that the bullets would kill her. Four bullets hit Feral, three passing through him, two of which hit Shadow causing her to scream out as they hit her right shoulder, just as she was trying to push herself up from the floor.

Feral fell, without a sound, hitting the wooden floor of the kitchen and lying still, in a spreading pool of blood. I scrambled to my feet, pulled my other pistol and fired several rounds at Ralph D'Amico, just as he dived over the parapet. I was sure that I had hit him, nevertheless I still ran after him.

"The fucking bastard has escaped!" I screamed in horror, as I watched the canopy blossom, dozens of feet beneath me.

Shadow got up and screamed out, running over to Feral.

" _No_!"

**_11:26 P.M._ **

Shadow fell down beside Josh and rolled the boy onto his back.

Josh was still alive, but blood was everywhere... Josh's blood. Shadow was beside herself and she was trying desperately to stem the bleeding. I ran over, unfastened Josh's vest and started applying field dressings to his wounds.

"You didn't have to do this to impress me," Shadow said, holding Josh's hand and sobbing.

"So, what do you think? You think a vigilante and a guy like me...?" Josh replied, before passing out, from the blood loss.

"I love you Josh," Chloe said and gave him a kiss on the lips.

There was just too much blood, far too much.

Josh was not dead yet, but he had given his life, to save Chloe. I could see a lot of blood on Chloe's shoulder; she was wounded too. Josh had slowed down the high velocity rounds enough, so that she had only been injured and not killed.

Damn, I misjudged that boy! God help me, I wish I could have had a chance to fix that. Chloe was now losing the boy, for the second time! How the hell, could anybody cope with losing the same person twice for fuck's sake!

The pool of blood was steadily increasing and I became aware of people appearing from the direction of the elevator; one was Marcus, his arm in a sling. Behind him came a Police Officer and two Paramedics. The Paramedics ran down the corridor, directly towards us. That leg, blocking the elevator, must have worked itself loose, a part of my mind told me.

I dragged Chloe away from Josh, so that the Paramedics could try to save him, but I could not hold out much hope; the injuries were so severe.

Chloe was screaming for Josh and it took all of my strength to hold her away from him, despite her own injuries and blood loss. The paramedics cut off Josh's clothes and started dressing his wounds, so they could move him. Marcus helped me to restrain Chloe, so that the Paramedics could get Josh onto a stretcher and down to an ambulance.

We had come so fucking close, to getting the bastard. At least he was on the run, now, and the penthouse was destroyed. However, we did lose somebody and we might also lose Chloe over it, she may not come back from it, at least not as the Chloe, which we knew and loved.

**_11:34 P.M._ **

Joshua was gone.

Shadow was inconsolable.

Marcus was coordinating the NYPD and Paramedics for the injured watchdogs. A Paramedic was tending to Shadow's shoulder and struggling, as she would not keep still and she had had to remove an arm from the top of her combat suit, so the Paramedic could get access to her shoulder.

I looked up at Marcus.

"How did you know to come?" I asked.

"An explosion was reported at the D'Amico Penthouse; it could only be one thing, or rather one person!" Marcus replied.

I pulled out my cell, my hands were shaking as I dialled, and called Dave.

"Mindy?" Dave asked and had to repeat himself, as I could not speak. "Mindy?"

"The bastard escaped!"

"I'm so sorry! Are you all okay?"

"I'm bruised and battered, but okay. Shadow has bullet wounds, to her right shoulder, as well as a lot of cuts and bruises. But..." I faltered.

"What?" Dave asked, cautiously.

"Josh – the boy... He took four bullets, fired by that fucking asshole D'Amico... They were meant for Shadow, but..."

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, Mindy," Dave replied. "I assume Shadow is not taking this well!"

"How the fuck can someone cope, losing the same fucking person twice, for fuck's sake!" I exclaimed, killed the call and started to sob.

Oh, God, it was there again. I needed Dave, but he was over eight hundred miles away.

I could not do this alone; I needed Dave!

**_11:50 P.M._ **

I dragged Chloe downstairs and we climbed onto the Ducati.

Fuck, I felt drained; I just hoped that I could ride in a vaguely straight line!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are advised to read Forsaken, Chapter 63: Sleep of The Vigilante – Day 6 next...


	18. Sleep of The Vigilante – Day 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter operates in parallel with Forsaken, Chapter 64: Sleep of The Vigilante – Day 7

**_The next day, Sunday_ **

**_The following takes place between Midnight and 1:00 A.M._ **

**_Marcus' House, New York City_ **

**_0:24 A.M._ **

We were finally back at Marcus' house.

I dragged Chloe upstairs, pulled off her combat suit and dumped her into bed. She fell asleep, almost straight away; I felt so sorry for her.

I received a text from Dave: 'ALL SAFE. JOB COMPLETE. CHICAGO SAFE.'

I sent back a reply: 'BASTARD ESCAPED. NY SAFE.'

I dragged off my combat suit and got into bed.

I sent another text to Dave: 'LOVE U. SLEEP TIGHT.'

A few seconds later, Dave replied: 'LOVE U TOO. SLEEP TIGHT.'

* * *

**_The following takes place from 1:00 A.M._ **

We slept!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That is the end of Feral. Please refer to Forsaken, Chapter 65: Home for the continuation.


End file.
